2 Big Pharmas Pleased With J&J's Third-Quarter Earnings Report

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) recently kicked off earnings season for the healthcare sector, and big pharma investors expecting stagnating sales were pleasantly surprised. Despite a pledge not to raise drug prices earlier this year, pharmaceutical sales kept on climbing, especially among the company's young oncology lineup.

Strong uptake of innovative new cancer therapies bodes well for a couple of J&J's peers. Let's look at what's in store for Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) in light of the industry's first big earnings report.