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On Monday, Barclays (LON:BARC) analyst Matt Miksic increased the price target for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares, taking it up to $166 from the previous $166, while maintaining an Equalweight rating on the stock. Miksic commented on the company's performance, noting that Johnson & Johnson delivered solid results in the fourth quarter. The pharmaceutical division, particularly the Oncology segment, showed strength that helped balance out weaker areas such as Electrophysiology (EP) and Surgery.
Johnson & Johnson has demonstrated consistent growth across its Pharma and MedTech portfolios. Miksic's analysis suggests that, after making certain adjustments for various factors in 2024 and 2025, the company is on track to achieve high single-digit earnings per share (EPS) growth.
Looking ahead, Johnson & Johnson's management has provided a robust guidance for 2025, despite facing significant foreign exchange (FX) headwinds and the loss of exclusivity (LOE) for Stelara, one of its key drugs. The company anticipates organic sales growth to be between 2.0% and 3.0% for 2025, which aligns with both Barclays' estimates and the wider market consensus.
For the 2025 EPS, management has set the guidance at $10.50 to $10.70, which not only meets but exceeds Barclays' estimates and aligns with general expectations. This forecast represents an approximate 6% increase at the midpoint, even after accounting for the Stelara LOE and a 25-cent impact from FX, which Miksic estimates could contribute roughly 2.5% to EPS growth.
In other recent news, Johnson & Johnson's financial performance and future guidance have led Bernstein SocGen Group, Stifel, and BofA Securities to adjust their price targets for the company's stock. Bernstein lowered its target to $158 from $160, while Stifel reduced its target to $155 from $170, and BofA set a new target at $159, down from $160. These adjustments followed Johnson & Johnson's release of its fourth-quarter results, which revealed an 11% year-over-year decline in adjusted EPS, but a 2% beat on the anticipated $1.99. The company also issued initial guidance for 2025, projecting operational sales growth between 2.5% and 3.5%.
Meanwhile, Legend Biotech Corp. received continued support from Goldman Sachs, which maintained its Buy rating on the company's shares with a price target of $84.28. This follows Legend Biotech's report of a significant increase in preliminary sales for its therapeutic drug, Carvykti, in the fourth quarter. Lastly, the emergence of DeepSeek, a low-cost Chinese AI model, has led to a shift in the market from tech stocks to defensive stocks, such as Philip Morris (NYSE:PM), Proctor and Gamble, Abbott, Merck (NSE:PROR), and Johnson and Johnson, which all registered gains in the latest trading session. These are the latest developments in the financial market.
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