Johnson & Johnson shares rose as much as 5.4% after an Oklahoma judge ordered the company to pay far less than some investors expected in the first trial by a state seeking compensation for the public-health crisis spawned by opioid painkillers.
Judge Thad Balkman ruled Aug. 26 that J&J created a “temporary” public nuisance by duping doctors into overprescribing its opioid-based medications, and ordered the company to pay $572 million to the state. Oklahoma had sought as much as $17.5 billion in reimbursements for tax dollars spent dealing with an epidemic of addiction and overdoses. J&J said it would appeal...