Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading 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 traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, 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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.