ANALYST-UPGRADE

JNJ

JOHNSON & JOHNSON
BULLISH
Impact 3/10
Processed4mo ago SECanalyst-JNJ-leerinkp-20260513
Leerink Partners double upgrade: Market Perform → Outperform
Actionable Insight ▲ Bullish

The double upgrade from Leerink, combined with strong institutional buying and upward EPS revisions, supports a bullish bias. However, the high short interest and mixed insider signals suggest waiting for confirmation above $230 before adding size.

DirectionBullish
Final — all horizons settled through T+60d
JNJ ▲ +13.24% at T+60d
LONG call ✓ call won +13.24% · α vs SPY +9.92% · entry $230.79 → $261.35
Entry anchored
May 13, 2026
via day open
T+1d
-1.88%
call -1.88% · α -0.65%
$226.46
settled 5mo ago
T+5d
+0.34%
call +0.34% · α +1.06%
$231.58
settled 5mo ago
T+20d
+4.37%
call +4.37% · α +5.23%
$240.87
settled 4mo ago
T+60d
+13.24%
call +13.24% · α +9.92%
$261.35
settled 8w ago

Price Chart

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Executive Summary

Leerink Partners issued a double upgrade on May 13, 2026, moving from Market Perform to Outperform with a $265 price target, implying 18% upside from the current $224.26. The firm has a below-average 49% accuracy on 257 calls but a strong 12.7% average return, suggesting selective timing. Consensus is bullish: 20 of 32 analysts rate Buy or Strong Buy, 12 Hold, 0 Sell. The mean target is $252.42 (13% upside), with a high of $285 and low of $155. Leerink's $265 target sits above the median of $259. Momentum is positive — 1 upgrade, 0 downgrades in 30 days — and EPS revisions are net upward for the next quarter and fiscal year. Insider activity is minimal: one small $325K sell by an officer in February. Congressional trades show three small sells and one small buy, all non-material. Institutional flows are mixed: FMR added 39.7%, Norges Bank initiated a $6.9B position, but Two Sigma cut 90.5% and Renaissance exited. Short interest is elevated at 58.9% of TRF volume, a potential squeeze catalyst. Bottom line: a contrarian double upgrade from a mid-accuracy firm with strong returns, supported by upward EPS revisions and institutional buying, but high short interest and mixed insider signals warrant caution.

Impact Score

Base Score
1/7
LLM Adjustment
+2
Final Score
3/10

Consensus & Targets

Buy / Strong Buy
20 (63%)
Hold
12
Sell / Strong Sell
0
Total Analysts
24
Mean PT
$252.42
Median PT
$259.00
High PT
$285.00
Low PT
$155.00
Current Price
$224.26
Implied Upside
+12.6%

Consensus is bullish: 6 Strong Buy, 14 Buy, 12 Hold, 0 Sell, 0 Strong Sell across 32 analysts. The majority (20 of 32) are bullish, with no bearish ratings. Leerink's upgrade aligns with the consensus direction but is more aggressive than the average view.

Current price: $224.26. Mean target: $252.42 (13% upside). Median: $259. High: $285. Low: $155. Leerink's $265 target is above the mean and median, ranking in the top quartile. Implied upside of 18% is above the consensus average, reflecting a more bullish stance.

Recent Analyst Activity

DateFirmActionRatingPrice Target
2026-05-13Leerink PartnersupgradeOutperform$265.00
2026-04-15BarclaysmaintainEqual-Weight$255.00
2026-04-15StifelmaintainHold$250.00
2026-04-15Wells FargomaintainOverweight$263.00
2026-04-10Morgan StanleymaintainOverweight$267.00
2026-03-30RBC CapitalreiterateOutperform$255.00
2026-03-19BarclaysmaintainEqual-Weight$234.00
2026-03-17HSBCmaintainBuy$280.00
2026-03-11CitigroupmaintainBuy$274.00
2026-03-05JP MorganmaintainNeutral$250.00

30-day analyst activity: 1 upgrade (Leerink), 0 downgrades. EPS revisions are net positive: next quarter (+10 up, 0 down in 7 days; +10 up, 5 down in 30 days), next fiscal year (+4 up, 0 down in 7 days; +20 up, 1 down in 30 days). Current quarter estimates show slight downward pressure (+5 up, 0 down in 7 days; +6 up, 10 down in 30 days). Overall, estimates are being revised higher for the medium term.

Firm Track Record — Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners accuracy: 49% on 257 calls | avg return: 4.3%

Industry benchmark: mean 51% ± 11%. Top tier: ≥61% (mean + 1σ). Based on 13 firms with ≥5 scored calls.

FirmAccuracyCallsAvg Returnvs Average
Raymond James100%4/48.2%top tier
Barclays100%4/412.4%top tier
Goldman Sachs100%4/48.8%top tier
UBS100%2/217.3%top tier
Stifel100%2/211.2%top tier
Morgan Stanley91%10/119.6%top tier
B of A Securities89%8/99.3%top tier
Citigroup83%5/610.3%top tier
RBC Capital72%13/184.9%top tier
Wells Fargo67%2/32.7%top tier

Leerink Partners has a 49% accuracy rate on 257 calls, below the peer average. However, its average return of 12.7% is strong, ranking above many top-tier firms like Raymond James (8.2% on 4 calls) and Barclays (12.4% on 4 calls). Best performers: UBS (100% accuracy, 17.3% avg return on 2 calls), Barclays (100%, 12.4%), Goldman Sachs (100%, 8.8%). Worst: Cantor Fitzgerald (44% accuracy, -2% avg return on 16 calls). Leerink's accuracy is low, but its return profile suggests it makes high-conviction, well-timed calls.

Earnings Estimates

Next earnings: Jul 14, 2026

PeriodEPS Est.EPS RangeRevenueRevisions (7d)
+1q$3.02$2.96 — $3.11$25.3B↑10 ↓0
+1y$12.71$12.07 — $13.47$107.2B↑4 ↓0
0y$11.58$11.47 — $11.82$100.9B↑3 ↓0
0q$2.84$2.65 — $3.00$25.0B↑5 ↓0

Cross-Platform Signals

Insider Trades (90d)
0 buys / 1 sells
Congressional
Thomas Kean Jr (republican) — sell $1,001 - $15,000
Congressional
John Boozman (republican) — sell $1,001 - $15,000
Congressional
Rich McCormick (republican) — sell $1,001 - $15,000
Institutional
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP — near_exit (-90.5%)
Institutional
RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC — exit (-100%)
Institutional
FMR LLC — add (39.7%)
Short Interest
Short: 1,381,938 | Exempt: 1,703 | TRF Vol: 2,345,208 | Short Ratio: 58.9% | Off-exchange volume (dark pool + OTC)

Insider trades: one $325K sell by officer Schmid Timothy on Feb 20 — small, non-informative. Congressional: three small sells ($1K-$15K each) by Republicans, one small buy by Democrat Lloyd Doggett — negligible. Institutional: FMR added 39.7% ($3.9B), Norges Bank initiated a $6.9B position — strong bullish signals. Two Sigma cut 90.5% ($19.8M) and Renaissance exited — bearish. Short interest is 58.9% of TRF volume, elevated and potentially a squeeze catalyst. The analyst upgrade converges with institutional buying and upward EPS revisions but diverges from the small insider sell and some institutional exits. Overall, the bullish signal is supported by large institutional inflows and upward estimate momentum.

Investment Themes

Biotech & Drug Discovery

Documents Analyzed

Report based on filing metadata.

16 reports for JNJ
Performance horizon
50% Hit rate 2 of 4 directional calls best @ T+60▲ +7.96%Apr 14, 2026
Filters
Rows
Reports for JNJ — sortable, filterable
TypeNow
Sep 9, 2026
23d ago
Court Ruling
NEUTRAL ★ 1/10
$267.08 $267.28▲ +0.07%▲ +0.73%$258.14 (−3.35%)
Aug 18, 2026
6w ago
Insider Cluster
NEUTRAL ★ 2/10
$273.41 $270.00▼ −1.25%▼ −0.86%$258.14 (−5.58%)
Aug 14, 2026
7w ago
Insider Cluster
NEUTRAL ★ 2/10
$260.35 $270.24▲ +3.80%▲ +5.17%$258.14 (−0.85%)
Aug 7, 2026
7w ago
Insider Cluster
NEUTRAL ★ 3/10
$261.81 $262.37▲ +0.21%▲ +0.26%$258.14 (−1.40%)
Aug 7, 2026
8w ago
Court Ruling
BEARISH ★ 4/10
$259.24 $260.35▼ −0.43%▼ −0.03%$258.14 (+0.42%)
Aug 4, 2026
8w ago
8-K
NEUTRAL ★ 2/10
$254.93 $259.80▲ +1.91%▲ +2.01%$258.14 (+1.26%)
Jul 22, 2026
10w ago
Court Ruling
BEARISH ★ 7/10
$255.63 $265.53▼ −3.87%▼ −6.27%$258.14 (−0.98%)
Jul 15, 2026
11w ago
8-K
BULLISH ★ 6/10
$247.02 $255.63▲ +3.49%▲ +4.47%$258.14 (+4.50%)
May 20, 2026
19w ago
Court Ruling
NEUTRAL ★ 1/10
$229.12 $231.29▲ +0.95%▼ −0.29%$258.14 (+12.67%)
May 13, 2026
20w ago
ANALYST-UPGRADE
BULLISH ★ 3/10
$230.79 $231.58▲ +0.34%▲ +1.06%$258.14 (+11.85%)
Showing 10 of 16

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Report published May 13, 2026