Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Raised to “Outperform” at Leerink Partners

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was upgraded by analysts at Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday. The firm currently has a $265.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective points to a potential upside of 18.07% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on JNJ. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $244.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $224.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.27. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $146.12 and a 52-week high of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total transaction of $324,762.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Capital LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.