Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 31,499 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 36% compared to the average daily volume of 23,198 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC set a $290.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.26.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded down $6.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $247.55. 6,645,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,396,273. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $159.80 and a 12 month high of $269.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $595.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: JNJ beat Q2 expectations, posting adjusted EPS of $2.90 versus $2.85 expected and revenue of $25.31 billion versus $25.02 billion expected, showing continued strength in the core business.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year 2026 guidance, with EPS now forecast at $11.60-$11.75 and revenue at $100.8 billion-$101.4 billion, signaling management’s confidence in the outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Pharmaceutical growth remains a key driver, especially Darzalex, Tremfya, and strong Spravato sales, which jumped 25% sequentially to $584 million and reinforce the long-term opportunity in depression treatment and related therapies. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.34 per share, which supports its appeal as a defensive income stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy call option activity suggests traders were positioning for a move around earnings, but the flow does not by itself explain the stock’s direction.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock is under pressure because the earnings beat was not viewed as dramatic enough to justify an immediate rerating, and investors may be taking profits after a strong run into the report.
• Negative Sentiment: Talc litigation and other legal risks continue to hang over the shares, limiting enthusiasm despite the improved outlook.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after buying an additional 3,731,074 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,704,364,000 after buying an additional 1,663,782 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,633,000 after acquiring an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,967,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,924,523,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.