Shortly after the opening bell, we will purchase 100 shares of Abbott Laboratories at approximately $108.26. As a result of the transaction, Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust will hold 800 shares of ABT, increasing its weighting from 2.45% to approximately 2.8%. Abbott Laboratories reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday, but its shares are trading lower premarket, allowing us to strengthen our position for the third time in recent weeks. In the quarter ended March 31, Abbott’s global sales rose 2.2% year over year to about $10 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of about $9.88 billion, according to LSEG. Organic sales growth in the underlying core business, which excludes sales related to Covid-19 testing, continued to build momentum, growing 10.8% year-on-year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The performance was broad. Organic sales in Abbott’s medical devices segment led the way, growing 14.3% on a year-over-year basis, followed by established pharmaceuticals up 13.7%, nutrition up 7.7%. and diagnoses up 5.4%. Abbott also beat its results, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.98, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.95, according to LSEG. After a better-than-expected quarter, Abbott raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted EPS and organic sales outlook. The EPS forecast range increased from $4.55 to $4.70, from $4.50 to $4.70, while the organic sales growth range for the underlying core business increased from 8.5% to 10%, from 8% to 10%. This second line is what is most important to us. The best way to look at the company is to analyze its underlying operations, as these do not include Covid-related sales. Abbott won’t get any market credit for Covid testing-related forecast increases, but it should if the underlying business performs better than expected. The fact that Abbott raised its full-year outlook to the low end is a good sign of what’s to come this year. And yet its stock is down about $1 year to date, or nearly 1%, and trading down another $1 in premarket trading Wednesday. There may always be someone looking to improve the outlook, both at the low and high end of the forecast, but that’s not Abbott’s way of doing things a few months into the year. We believe this weakness in a strong quarter is an opportunity to strengthen our position. We initiated our participation in Abbott at the end of January. Our two most recent purchases were on March 15 and 21. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long ABT. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after a trade alert is sent before buying or selling a stock in his charity’s portfolio. If Jim talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after the trade alert is issued before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, AS WELL AS OUR DISCLAIMER. NO OBLIGATION OR FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR PROFITS ARE GUARANTEED.
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