Thanksgiving Bargains Fuel J&J Acquisition Spree

The Thanksgiving buying bug has bitten my favorite blue-chip, Johnson & Johnson, which is buying Mentor Corp. and Omrix Biopharmaceuticals. 

Omrix is going to feed right into J&J's surgical care business.... and by that I mean the serious surgical stuff. 

Mentor, on the other hand, feeds into, shall we say, the sometimes desired-but-not-required cosmetic surgery side.  It is a leader in cosmetic products, including breast implants.  J&J has traditionally not been a market leader in cosmetic surgery, but this acquisition will change that. 

J&J's stock went down as a result of these acquisitions, but the long term prognosis is very positive.  I'm shoring up my position in the stock.

Alza's Changing Face

J&J's Alza division, over the last 7 years, has been a dismal place to work.  They started by helping Google out, shutting their offices near the search giant.  Google of course immediately snapped up those facilities. 

Alza's Vacaville location has been a not too happy place to be at, since.  In the last couple of years, there have been two massive layoffs.  A large part of this is due to J&J methodically moving facilities and costs overseas.  But in Alza's case, there is a lot more going on. 

Its very sad.  Right now, I can't even get their website to load.