Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares shot up 2.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $271.91 and last traded at $271.53. Approximately 5,948,628 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 8,178,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated coverage of JNJ with a Buy rating and a $320 price target, implying approximately 15%–16% upside from recent levels. The target reflects greater confidence in Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical pipeline and future growth prospects. J&J Jumps as UBS Lifts Its Target to $320
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare stocks advanced broadly Wednesday, providing a favorable sector backdrop for JNJ and reinforcing demand for defensive, large-cap healthcare companies. Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Advance Wednesday Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson will participate in the Deutsche Bank Healthcare Summit on September 17. Management’s fireside chat could provide updates on the pharmaceutical pipeline, guidance and legal matters, but the announcement itself does not change fundamentals. Johnson & Johnson to Participate in the Deutsche Bank 2026 Healthcare Summit
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst lowered the FY2026 EPS forecast for JNJ, signaling somewhat softer earnings expectations and potentially limiting upside despite the optimistic UBS target. FY2026 EPS Forecast for Johnson & Johnson Lowered by Analyst
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite Stelara and other upcoming patent expirations, weakness in Medical Technology, and talc litigation as headwinds. These issues could pressure revenue, margins and investor confidence even as JNJ targets accelerated growth beyond 2026. J&J Faces Multiple Headwinds: Can the Healthcare Giant Sustain Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also highlights that JNJ replaced more than $2 billion in lost sales with new products but retained less than half of that amount, raising concerns about profitability and the durability of its growth. Johnson & Johnson Replaced Lost Sales With New Ones

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $280.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.83.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.61. The firm has a market cap of $671.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 62.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $4,090,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,458. This represents a 48.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $5,792,778.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,779,963.81. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,972 shares of company stock valued at $16,245,605. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 161,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,450 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,410,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,736,000 after buying an additional 28,370 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 76.1% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,697,000 after acquiring an additional 6,539 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $30,017,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 152,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,815,000 after acquiring an additional 13,737 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.