Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $294.00 to $292.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.06% from the company’s previous close.

JNJ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.35.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $256.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,811,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,979,705. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $184.66 and a one year high of $281.07. The firm has a market cap of $616.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.38 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 31.54% and a net margin of 16.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.150 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.10 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 48.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 87,569 shares of company stock worth $23,064,544 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,588,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,736,851,000 after buying an additional 2,513,321 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.5% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,661,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,977,506,000 after buying an additional 1,225,676 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,406,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,277,163,000 after buying an additional 2,001,139 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,967,399,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,872,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,924,323,000 after acquiring an additional 148,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson exceeded third-quarter earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $2.59 versus the $2.53 consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to approximately $25.4 billion. Strong Innovative Medicine growth—particularly oncology, immunology and TREMFYA—helped offset weaker device sales. Johnson and Johnson Stock Plunges 6% As Medical Device Sales Miss Wall Street Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 outlook to $101.0 billion–$101.4 billion in revenue and $11.05–$11.15 in adjusted EPS, broadly in line with analyst expectations. Executives also said the company remains on track to reach $100 billion in annual revenue. JNJ Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth Outlook and MedTech Challenges
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.34 per share, or $5.36 annualized, supporting the stock’s defensive appeal. Johnson & Johnson Dividend Information
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is considering a mid-2027 spinoff of its DePuy Synthes hips-and-knees orthopedic business. The move could sharpen the company’s strategic focus, but execution and separation costs remain uncertainties. Johnson & Johnson leaning toward spinning out hips-and-knees business
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley expects Johnson & Johnson’s December 8 enterprise review to provide greater clarity on the company’s portfolio and longer-term outlook. Johnson & Johnson’s Enterprise Review Expected to Sharpen Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The main overhang remains MedTech: third-quarter device revenue missed Wall Street forecasts amid soft international demand, China pricing pressure and European budget constraints. Analysts subsequently lowered several price targets, while acquisition-related costs and expected 2027 dilution also cloud the outlook. These Analysts Cut Their Forecasts on Johnson & Johnson After Q3 Results

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets products through two primary business segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech. Its operations serve patients, healthcare professionals and consumers in markets around the world.

The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on prescription medicines in areas including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, infectious diseases, and pulmonary hypertension.