Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $237.91 and last traded at $238.3360. 7,326,861 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 8,665,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.31.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $267 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing expected positive catalysts and implying roughly double‑digit upside from current levels. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Other firms (Guggenheim, Citigroup) and coverage aggregators note upgraded outlooks and expectations for price appreciation, adding analyst momentum behind the shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational catalyst: J&J launched the VARIPULSE Pro pulsed field ablation system in Europe (CE Mark), beginning commercial roll‑out and real‑world data collection — a potential MedTech growth driver if adoption and data prove favorable. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fair‑value and target adjustments are modest overall (example: a slight shift in fair value to ~$241.71), reflecting a mix of lifted targets and concerns; these moves give analysts room to be bullish while keeping upside measured. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Long‑term income story remains intact: retail coverage highlights J&J’s long dividend‑increase streak and diversified business, which supports buy-and-hold investor interest but is less likely to move the stock sharply in the short term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings caution: previews and analysts warn that Q1 results and near-term headwinds (biosimilar competition, pricing pressure, and litigation overhang) could justify selling rallies, which is pressuring sentiment into the report. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.17.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $574.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 73,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after acquiring an additional 6,584 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.