Recently, I made a list of the 10 most profitable and cheap stocks to consider right now. In this article, I’d like to explore how Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) compares among these affordable and lucrative stocks.
On Friday, May 2nd, US stock markets saw an upswing, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and tech-heavy Nasdaq all showing significant gains. The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.5%, celebrating its longest winning stretch since November 2004. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq also gained roughly 1.5%.
This surge was largely influenced by China hinting at its willingness to engage in trade discussions and an unexpectedly strong US employment report. In April, the US added 177,000 non-farm jobs, surpassing economists’ expectations of 138,000, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. This data suggested a resilient labor market, even amid April’s uncertainties due to tariff worries.
Investor sentiment was buoyed further by signs that the US-China trade conflict may be heading towards resolution. On Friday, China announced it was reviewing a recent proposal from the US for trade talks, expressing interest in understanding the seriousness of the Trump administration regarding policy changes. The Chinese Commerce Minister stated that “the door is open” if the US considers reducing mutual tariffs. These comments eased fears of an economic slowdown due to tariffs.
Overall, optimism surrounding improved US-China relations, coupled with solid employment growth, bolstered confidence on Wall Street.
For the recent list of affordable yet profitable stocks, we utilized the Finviz Stock Screener to identify stocks with a forward P/E ratio under 15. We organized the findings based on market capitalization, focusing on companies with revenues less than 15 times since April 29, 2025, specifically those exceeding $1 billion. The top 10 profitable stocks were determined by their popularity among institutional investors, with hedge fund sentiment data sourced from Insider Monkey’s fourth-quarter 2024 database, which compiles information from over 1,000 elite hedge funds. Stocks were ranked in ascending order based on how many hedge funds owned them at the end of 2024.
So, why should we pay attention to hedge funds? The short answer is that research indicates mirroring the top picks of successful hedge funds can lead to better market performance. A quarterly newsletter strategy, for instance, selected 14 small and large caps each quarter, achieving a remarkable 373.4% return since May 2014—outpacing the benchmark by 218 percentage points.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) stands as a major player in the healthcare sector, focusing on both medicines and medical technologies. It ranks among the top recommended stocks currently. In the first quarter of 2025, the company made notable progress in research and product development, introducing options like Tremfya for inflammatory bowel disease and Rybrevant Plus Lazcluze. They also bolstered their neuroscience portfolio through an acquisition focused on intracellular therapy. Johnson & Johnson plans to invest over $55 billion in the US in the next four years. This investment aims to support innovation, improve health technology, and establish new advanced manufacturing facilities while expanding existing sites. Essentially, this will accelerate drug discovery, workforce training, and operational efficiency.
Currently, JNJ is positioned as the 6th most appealing buy on the list of affordable and profitable stocks. While there’s potential here, I think some AI-related stocks might offer better returns in a shorter timeframe. It’s interesting to note that some AI stocks have surged since the start of 2025, while well-known AI investments have dropped around 25%. If you’re interested in promising AI stocks trading at under five times their revenues, you might want to check out the cheapest AI stocks.
Disclosure: None.
