Wall Street Zen Downgrades Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Hold

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

JNJ has been the topic of several other reports. Freedom Capital raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC set a $290.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners raised Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $263.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.39.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $256.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.51. The company has a market cap of $618.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.24. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $164.23 and a 1 year high of $274.90.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $5,792,778.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,779,963.81. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 4,876 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 73,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after purchasing an additional 6,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately bullish: JNJ’s median analyst price target is about $263, with several targets above that level, including Citigroup’s $298 target. Argus Research also issued a Buy rating, while Erste Group raised its 2026 EPS forecast to $11.68, close to the $11.69 consensus. Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on Johnson & Johnson Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology and immunology expansion strengthens the growth pipeline: J&J completed its $1 billion acquisition of Firefly Bio, adding a degrader antibody-conjugate platform targeting difficult solid tumors, including KRAS-driven cancers. Johnson & Johnson Completes Acquisition of Firefly Bio
• Positive Sentiment: Promising regulatory and shareholder-return news: The FDA granted Priority Review to subcutaneous RYBREVANT FASPRO for advanced head and neck cancer, potentially expanding a key oncology franchise. JNJ also increased its dividend for the 64th consecutive year and is pursuing a long-term $100 billion revenue goal. RYBREVANT FASPRO Receives FDA Priority Review
• Neutral Sentiment: In-vivo CAR-T investment adds potential but carries execution risk: JNJ will make up to $785 million in initial payments to Sail Biomedicines and has an option to acquire it for $2.58 billion. The technology could create new autoimmune and oncology treatments, but commercialization is still uncertain. J&J Ventures Further Into In Vivo CAR-T
• Negative Sentiment: The $5.5 billion talc settlement weighs on sentiment: The proposed agreement would resolve roughly 76,000 ovarian-cancer claims, subject to 95% claimant participation. Although it could reduce litigation uncertainty, investors are focused on the substantial cash obligation, including up to $3 billion in 2027, and execution risk. Johnson & Johnson to Pay $5.5 Billion to Resolve Talc Litigation

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.