Stock Market Today, Feb. 18: Kenvue Rises After Earnings Beat Expectations
Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE), maker of consumer health products including Tylenol, Neutrogena, and Listerine, closed Wednesday at $18.88, up 2.55%. The stock moved higher after Q4 results beat expectations and analysts raised price targets, while investors are watching progress on the pending Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) acquisition and related restructuring plans.
Trading volume reached 46.9 million shares, coming in roughly 3.9% above its three-month average of 45.2 million shares. Kenvue IPO'd in 2023 and has fallen 30% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.56% to 6,881, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) gained 0.78% to finish at 22,754. Among personal care products, industry peers Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) closed at $111.61 (-0.47%) and Coty (NYSE:COTY) ended at $2.61 (+1.95%), showing mixed moves against Kenvue’s advance.
What this means for investors
Kenvue reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.27 compared to estimates of $0.22 on revenue of $3.78 billion that increased 3.2% year over year. Several analysts boosted Kenvue stock price targets into the $18-$20 per share range on the heels of the report.
Kenvue entered into a definitive merger agreement in November with Kimberly-Clark for a roughly $48.7 billion cash-and-stock acquisition. Kenvue announced a worldwide restructuring related to the merger, which includes reducing its workforce by 3.5% and incurring approximately $250 million in pre-tax charges for 2026. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
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Howard Smith has positions in Kenvue. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kenvue. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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