Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $218.21, but opened at $211.00. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $215.7060, with a volume of 4,192,436 shares.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, stronger guidance and rising free cash flow: JNJ beat Q4 revenue and EPS expectations, raised FY outlook and guided to materially higher 2026 free cash flow (~$21B), which underpins analyst upgrades and ETF buying interest. ETFs to Buy Post JNJ’s Q4 Earnings Surprise & Bullish Cash Flow View
• Positive Sentiment: Large Scotiabank upgrade: Scotiabank moved to “sector outperform” and raised its target sharply (to $265), signaling confidence in J&J’s growth runway and boosting investor appetite. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Gets a Buy from Scotiabank
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple price target raises from analysts: Leerink (+$201→$232) and Sanford C. Bernstein (+$208→$225) (and others including Stifel, BofA) have nudged targets higher, reflecting the quarter and helping push sentiment positive. Leerink Raises Price Target Bernstein Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/trend signals: MarketBeat highlights a trend‑following buy signal after a post‑earnings pullback — technical confirmation can attract momentum and institutional flows. Trend‑Following Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: MedTech strength and product pipeline: MedTech sales growth, product launches and the OTTAVA robotic submission provide a potential high‑growth stream beyond staples like Stelara. MedTech Growth & Product Launches
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation checks: Coverage pieces are assessing JNJ’s valuation after the rally — some see limited near‑term upside from current levels, which could temper aggressive buying. Valuation After Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Talc litigation risk: A Special Master allowed plaintiffs’ expert testimony in the talc MDL, keeping litigation risk visible and a potential earnings/cash‑flow overhang. Talc Litigation Update

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $201.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $240.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Loop Capital set a $190.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $207.86 and its 200-day moving average is $188.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $530.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.34.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46. The company had revenue of $24.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.14 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.34% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.430-11.630 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vista Investment Partners II LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.