Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has announced that it will spend $2 billion to develop a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina.
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In a news release, the company said the facility will help it produce new therapies and expand its existing production of medicines used to treat cancer and neurological diseases. Construction on the new manufacturing plant is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
Johnson & Johnson added that 420 full-time staff will be employed at the North Carolina site, approximately 50 miles from Raleigh, once it is completed and fully operational. The pharmaceutical giant also promised to retain another 259 people that it currently employs across the state.
Rebuilding as a Pharmaceutical Hub
North Carolina is using incentives, subsidies, and tax breaks to attract a growing number of pharmaceutical companies and improve the state’s economy. Johnson & Johnson joins other pharmaceutical and healthcare companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Novo Nordisk (NVO), and Pfizer (PFE) in setting up manufacturing plants across the state.
In Johnson & Johnson’s case, it is eligible to receive as much as $30 million in payroll tax breaks and other incentives from North Carolina’s government for building its new manufacturing facility in the eastern part of the state. North Carolina sees pharmaceutical companies as a way to revitalize its economy, which saw a steep downturn due to a decline in the rural tobacco industry.
According to the state government, the average annual salary of a pharmaceutical company employee is $108,800, which is more than double the average annual income in America.
Is JNJ Stock a Buy?
Johnson & Johnson stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 14 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on six Buy and eight Hold recommendations assigned in the last three months. There are no Sell ratings on the stock. The average JNJ price target of $171.83 implies upside potential of 6.31% from current levels.
