Johnson & Johnson Receives “Neutral” Rating from Zacks (JNJ)
Zacks reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) in a research note released on Monday morning. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Johnson & Johnson’s fourth quarter EPS was a couple of cents above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17 and 5.3% above the year-ago EPS of $1.13. Revenues increased 8.0% y-o-y to $17.6 billion, just shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $17.7 billion. The company’s 2013 guidance was, however, disappointing with earnings expected in the range of $5.35 – $5.45 per share. We have cut our 2013 earnings estimate by 10 cents. We remain Neutral on the stock. While we expect the company to continue facing headwinds in the form of pricing pressure, manufacturing issues and US healthcare reform, we believe the diversified business model, lack of cyclicality, strong financial position will continue helping the company pave its way through tough situations.”
JNJ has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note to investors on Tuesday, March 5th. They now have a $78.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated a hold rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note to investors on Friday, February 15th. They now have a $79.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 7th. They now have a $73.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $71.00. They noted that the move was a valuation call.
Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, four have issued an overweight rating, seven have given a hold rating, and three have given a sell rating to the company’s stock. Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of overweight and an average price target of $78.38.
Johnson & Johnson traded up 0.03% on Monday, hitting $78.585. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $61.71 and a 1-year high of $78.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $75.67. The company has a market cap of $219.7 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35.
Johnson & Johnson is a holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
To view Zacks’ full report, visit www.zacks.com
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