Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $265.35 and traded as high as $272.36. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $266.3750, with a volume of 5,775,719 shares.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Promising prostate-cancer data: Experimental drug JNJ-6143 produced tumor-response rates of roughly 69% to 75% in heavily pretreated patients with advanced prostate cancer. The results support further development of the first-in-class RIPTAC drug, although the evidence remains early-stage. What Do Johnson & Johnson Cancer Trial Wins Mean For Its Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: RYBREVANT expansion potential: A subcutaneous RYBREVANT FASPRO combination generated a 77% overall response rate in first-line treatment of advanced head and neck cancer. The findings support the ongoing Phase 3 OrigAMI-5 trial and could broaden the commercial opportunity for a key oncology franchise. RYBREVANT FASPRO Head and Neck Cancer Results
• Positive Sentiment: ERLEADA showed a meaningful benefit: Johnson & Johnson said using ERLEADA before and after surgery reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 62% versus surgery alone in high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer, potentially supporting broader adoption. ERLEADA Surgical Study Results
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF activity showed net selling of JNJ, but this is generally a short-term trading signal rather than a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: An expected orthopedics merger with Smith & Nephew collapsed over leadership disagreements, removing a potential strategic opportunity. The strong cancer data also comes with clinical and regulatory risks because several programs remain in relatively early development.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Raymond James Financial set a $280.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Johnson Rice downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $275.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.92.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $641.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $265.35 and its 200-day moving average is $245.32.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.38 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 16.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 81.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 33,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.74, for a total value of $9,230,439.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,991,308.78. This trade represents a 56.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 15,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.36, for a total value of $3,950,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 194,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,210,615.36. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 64,515 shares of company stock worth $17,271,766 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Outlook Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Matrix Trust Co lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a global healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Founded in 1886, the company develops and markets products and services for patients, healthcare professionals and institutions worldwide.

Johnson & Johnson operates through two principal segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech. Innovative Medicine focuses on pharmaceuticals for areas such as immunology, oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and cardiovascular conditions.