Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $155.36, but opened at $158.75. Johnson & Johnson shares last traded at $158.22, with a volume of 1,970,261 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $368.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.