Great Call on Johnson & Johnson! What's Next?

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Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) hasn't been completely spared from the global drubbing of stocks, but the 18% that its stock has fallen from its 52-week high is far better than the precipitous fall of the S&P. The reason for the smaller drop is simple: The products that J&J sells are some of the last products that its customers will cut out during tough times. The company's third-quarter earnings showed this resilience, as did the fact that the company raised its full-year earnings guidance.

On Motley Fool CAPS, J&J is a clear favorite. More than 10,000 members have weighed in on the stock, and more than 9,800 of them come in on the bullish side. None of these thousands of members have been quite as canny on J&J as bkrebsy, though. This member first weighed in on J&J back in late 2006 with a thumbs-down that netted 10 points. Our CAPS participant has scored another 42 points since then by turning bullish on the stock and remaining so ever since mid-2007.

bkrebsy is one of CAPS' All-Stars -- players with a rating of 80 or greater -- and has managed a stock-picking accuracy of 54% while racking up more than 650 points. And J&J hasn't been this member's only great call. Here's a look at a few of bkrebsy's other prescient picks:

Company	Date Picked	Call	Points	CAPS Rating (Out of 5)
Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL)	11/16/06	Outperform	140	***
McDonalds (NYSE: MCD)	11/2/06	Outperform	74	****
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)	10/9/06	Outperform	65	****

Data from CAPS.

So what is this investor looking at these days? Here are a few of bkrebsy's most recent calls on CAPS:

Company	Date Picked	Call	CAPS Rating
WellPoint (NYSE: WLP)	10/15/08	Outperform	****
Moody's (NYSE: MCO)	10/13/08	Outperform	***
3M (NYSE: MMM)	7/29/08	Outperform	*****

Data from CAPS.

Not all of these picks may pan out, but they can still be a good place to start some further research. I decided to take a closer look at 3M.

The best offense is a good defense
There's no shame in playing good defense -- just ask James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. This pair of Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers have wreaked havoc on quarterbacks this year and have helped the Steelers climb to the top of the AFC North.

Fortunately for us investors, playing investing defense doesn't involve trying to wrestle down the likes of 6-foot-6, 260-pound quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Instead, our best defensive move can come from making our portfolios a bit more conservative in the face of a global recession. For investors looking to move in this direction, J&J is certainly a stock that packs some defensive clout, as is 3M.

3M hangs onto sales in tough times in a few different ways. It sells some products -- like Post-it Notes -- that customers are unlikely to see as a financial burden to continue buying. Other products, like the document authentication solutions that it sells for border control, are simply too important for buyers to cut back on. And the sheer diversity of 3M's product portfolio -- which ranges from fly fishing lines, to touch-screen monitors, to microreplication technology for road signs -- means that weakness in any single area won't hurt the company too badly.

CAPS members have awarded 3M a perfect five-star rating, and more than 3,300 members have given the stock a thumbs-up. CAPS fans have noted the defensive aspect of the stock, as well as the healthy dividend yield and the company's global presence. Perceiving a sale on 3M shares, CAPS All-Star jiggernit was particularly and gave the stock a thumbs-up in late October: "This is one of the best companies in America -- are you really letting me buy it for $55/share? That's totally cool!"

So what's your take on 3M? Will it stand tough in the face of a recession, or will its defenses fail? Get in the action by clicking over to CAPS. The service is absolutely free and already has more than 120,000 stock pickers chipping in to find the best stocks out there.

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