Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Rating Increased to Outperform at Leerink Partners

Key Points

• Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson to “outperform” from “market perform” and set a $265 price target, implying about 18% upside from the prior close.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings and revenue that beat estimates, with EPS of $2.70 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $24.06 billion versus $23.60 billion expected. Revenue rose 9.9% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on J&J, with 20 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $253.04. Several other firms also recently raised their price targets on the stock.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Leerink Partners from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has a $265.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners' target price indicates a potential upside of 18.07% from the company's previous close.

JNJ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $224.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $540.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $236.18 and its 200 day moving average is $221.21. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $146.12 and a 52 week high of $251.71.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total transaction of $5,527,477.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at $6,540,469.77. This trade represents a 45.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blueline Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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.

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