Kenvue shares rise after favorable court ruling in Tylenol litigation

Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue Inc.
KVUE,
+0.10%
gained more than 5% premarket on Tuesday after a federal court judge in New York ruled that plaintiffs’ expert testimony will be blocked in a case involving product-liability claims against the manufacturers of Tylenol and generic acetaminophen. Judge Denise Cote of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday granted the defendants’ motion to exclude plaintiffs’ expert opinions on whether in-utero exposure to acetaminophen could cause children to develop autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “This is a clean sweep for the defendants,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote in a research note Monday. The judge’s ruling “effectively collapses the plaintiffs’ case in the multi-district litigation.” The analysts added Kenvue shares to their focus list as a value pick, saying the development would likely allow the stock’s valuation to move back in line with peers. Kenvue is the consumer health business spun off from Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
+0.18%
earlier this year. The shares have dropped 0.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.45%
has gained 6.7%.