Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Near Record Highs: What Investors Should Know Before the December 1, 2025 Market Open

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) heads into the new trading week sitting just under all‑time highs, after a powerful rally that’s pushed the healthcare giant toward a $500 billion market value. ^[1]

With U.S. markets reopening on Monday, December 1, 2025, investors watching the premarket tape will be weighing three things:

JNJ’s near-record share price
Fresh analyst forecasts and valuation debates published between November 28–30
The company’s accelerating growth story – and still‑unresolved legal and spin‑off risks

Here’s a concise, news-ready rundown of where JNJ stands before the bell.

JNJ stock price snapshot heading into December 1

Last close (Friday, Nov. 28, 2025):
Johnson & Johnson closed at $206.92 per share, according to long‑term price data. ^[2]
All-time high:
JNJ’s all‑time intraday high sits at about $207.81, set in late November 2025, leaving Friday’s close just a whisker below that level. ^[3]
Recent performance:
A November 28 analysis from Barchart notes that over the last three months JNJ shares gained about 17.6%, while the S&P 500 rose roughly 5.1% over the same period. Year‑to‑date, JNJ is up around 43.5%, versus about 15.8% for the S&P 500; over the last 52 weeks, JNJ is up 34.3%, again well ahead of the index. ^[4]
Trend signals:
JNJ has been trading above both its 50‑day and 200‑day moving averages since early July, a classic technical sign of a solid uptrend. ^[5]
Market cap and volatility:
Recent data pegs Johnson & Johnson’s market capitalization at roughly $500 billion, classifying it firmly as a “mega‑cap” stock with a beta near 0.38, meaning it tends to be less volatile than the broader market. ^[6]

In short: JNJ is entering December 1 as a low‑volatility, dividend‑paying stock trading very close to record highs after an exceptional 2025 run.

Fresh news and commentary (Nov. 28–30, 2025)

1. Performance vs the market and peers – Nov. 28

Barchart’s November 28 feature, “Is Johnson & Johnson Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?”, highlights how dramatic JNJ’s recent outperformance has been. The article points out: ^[7]

JNJ is just off its 52‑week high of $207.81, reached in late November.
The stock’s three‑month, year‑to‑date, and 12‑month returns all handily beat the S&P 500.
Shares have ridden strong Q3 2025 results and optimism around the company’s pipelines and MedTech business.

MarketWatch data for the same session shows JNJ slipping only about 0.3% on Friday, November 28, in a broadly positive market, while a peer like Gilead fell more than 1%. ^[8]

2. “Is J&J still a bargain?” – valuation debate on Nov. 28

On November 28, Simply Wall St published a detailed valuation piece asking whether J&J is still good value after its rally. Key takeaways: ^[9]

The stock is up about 11.2% over the past month and roughly 38% over the last year.
Using a discounted cash flow (DCF) model, their work estimates an intrinsic value of about $384 per share, implying JNJ could be around 46% undervalued relative to late‑November prices.
JNJ trades on a P/E of roughly 19.9x, which they note is below the broader pharma industry average (~20.6x) and well below a peer group average (~24.7x).

Their conclusion: undervalued on both DCF and P/E metrics, even after the rally – though that depends heavily on long‑term growth assumptions.

3. Institutional flows: mixed trimming and buying – Nov. 28 & 30

Several MarketBeat “instant alerts” between November 28 and 30 spotlight institutional investors quietly adjusting positions: ^[10]

Level Four Advisory Services increased its JNJ stake by about 2.8% in Q2, now holding over 68,000 shares.
Railway Pension Investments Ltd trimmed its position by 5.6%, still holding roughly 668,000 shares, making JNJ its 12th‑largest holding.
Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its stake by 3.7%.
BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments moved the other way, boosting its JNJ holdings by 86.1%, to over 131,000 shares.

Across these filings, MarketBeat notes that around 69.5% of JNJ’s shares are held by institutions and hedge funds, underscoring strong professional ownership, even as individual firms fine‑tune exposure.

4. JNJ pitched as a conservative “buy and hold” – Nov. 30

On November 30, a Nasdaq‑hosted article from The Motley Fool titled “3 Stocks to Buy and Hold: the Long-Term Play for Your Portfolio” profiles JNJ alongside Medtronic and Pfizer. For J&J, the author emphasizes: ^[11]

JNJ is a classic “Dividend King” with over 50 consecutive years of dividend increases.
The current dividend yield is about 2.5%, more than double the S&P 500’s yield.
At a P/E near 20x, JNJ is cheaper than high‑flying peers (like Intuitive Surgical or Eli Lilly), but pricier than more beaten‑down names such as Pfizer.
Its combination of pharmaceutical and medical device businesses offers broad diversification and a relatively “smooth ride” for conservative, long‑term investors.

The framing here: JNJ may not be the most explosive upside story, but it aims to be a “sleep‑at‑night” core holding.

5. Momentum drivers: earnings, acquisitions and spin‑off

A November 26 Benzinga piece (syndicated by DayTraders.com) helps explain why JNJ has rallied so hard into late November: ^[12]

Year to date, JNJ is up about 42.9%, roughly 35% over six months and 8.6% over the last month.
The surge is linked to strong Q3 2025 earnings, the announced spin‑off of the Orthopaedics business (DePuy Synthes) over the next 18–24 months, the Halda Therapeutics acquisition, and positive FDA label expansions for key drugs.

This momentum narrative is central to the “why now?” question ahead of Monday’s open.

Earnings and fundamentals: Q3 2025 in focus

JNJ’s third‑quarter 2025 numbers, presented on October 14, continue to shape analyst commentary in late November: ^[13]

Revenue:
- Q3 2025 sales were $24.0 billion, up 6.8% reported and 5.4% operationally year over year.
Earnings:
- GAAP diluted EPS jumped to $2.12, up roughly 91% year over year.
- Adjusted EPS came in at $2.80, up 15.7%, beating consensus estimates (~$2.76).
Segments:
- Innovative Medicine (about 65% of sales) delivered $15.6 billion, with standout growth in Oncology (over 20% reported growth) and Neuroscience, offset by declines in Immunology due to Stelara biosimilar pressure.
- MedTech posted $8.4 billion in revenue, up 6.8% reported, led by cardiovascular devices (including Abiomed and Shockwave) and solid performance in Vision and Orthopaedics.
Guidance:
- JNJ raised its full‑year 2025 sales outlook to approximately $93.5–$93.9 billion, and guided adjusted EPS to roughly $10.63–$10.73.

StockAnalysis’ consensus forecast echoes that growth story, projecting: ^[14]

2025 revenue of about $94.7 billion, up ~6.6% from 2024.
2025 EPS of about $10.97, nearly 90% higher than 2024 (reflecting both operational progress and easier comparisons).
Further growth in 2026, with revenue around $99.7 billion and EPS about $11.65.

Together, these numbers explain why analysts broadly maintain a positive stance even after the big year‑to‑date rally.

Dividend, balance sheet and income appeal

For income‑oriented investors watching premarket quotes, JNJ’s dividend profile remains a key part of the story:

Quarterly dividend: JNJ has declared a $1.30 per share quarterly dividend (annualized $5.20), with a yield of roughly 2.5% at recent prices. ^[15]
Payout ratio: The dividend represents about 50% of earnings, leaving room for reinvestment and future increases. ^[16]
Track record: With more than five decades of annual dividend hikes, JNJ sits in the elite ranks of Dividend Kings. ^[17]

MarketBeat’s recent institutional‑ownership pieces also underscore a solid balance sheet, with a debt‑to‑equity ratio near 0.50, current ratio around 1.07, and quick ratio about 0.80 – not zero‑debt, but consistent with a mature, cash‑generative blue chip. ^[18]

Wall Street forecasts & price targets as of late November

Between November 28–30, several data providers updated or highlighted JNJ analyst consensus figures.

TipRanks: Moderate Buy, price target at the current level

TipRanks’ late‑November update shows: ^[19]

Rating consensus:Moderate Buy based on 20 analyst ratings over the last three months.
- 13 Buy
- 7 Hold
- 0 Sell
Average 12‑month price target:$207.26
- High target: $230
- Low target: $176
- The average implies about –0.14% downside versus a reference price of $207.56, i.e., essentially flat.

MarketBeat: Moderate Buy with modest downside

MarketBeat’s November 28 forecast page shows a similar, slightly more conservative picture: ^[20]

Consensus rating:Moderate Buy from 26 analysts.
- 13 Buy, 9 Hold, 4 Strong Buy, 0 Sell.
Average price target:$201.05, with a range of $153–$230.
- That’s about 2.8% below the $206.89 closing price on November 28.

MarketBeat also highlights that JNJ’s rating score is stronger than the average medical stock, reinforcing its status as a preferred large‑cap in the sector. ^[21]

StockAnalysis: Buy, but targets below the current price

StockAnalysis arrives at a similar conclusion using a subset of 15 covering analysts: ^[22]

Consensus rating: Buy.
Average target price:$196.60, with a $153–$215 range.
- The average implies roughly 5% downside from the November 28 close of $206.92.

Big picture on forecasts

Across these three sources:

Rating: JNJ is consistently rated “Moderate Buy” / “Buy”, with no major sell calls from the mainstream broker cohort. ^[23]
Price targets: The average 12‑month targets cluster around $196–$207, mostly below or only marginally above the current share price.

In other words, Wall Street broadly likes the business, but many analysts believe a lot of the near‑term upside is already priced in after 2025’s big run.

Valuation: expensive, cheap, or “fair” at all‑time highs?

How expensive JNJ looks right now depends on which lens you use:

Relative P/E and sector comparison

JNJ’s P/E ratio of ~19.9–20x sits below the pharma industry average (~20.6x) and below a peer group average near 24.7x, according to Simply Wall St. ^[24]
Compared with some high‑growth peers, JNJ looks outright modest: Motley Fool notes Intuitive Surgical trading at a P/E around 74 and Eli Lilly around 53, while Pfizer sits much lower than JNJ. ^[25]

That positioning supports the idea that JNJ isn’t “cheap,” but also isn’t priced like the hottest momentum names in healthcare.

DCF perspectives: deep value?

On the other hand, Simply Wall St’s DCF‑driven fair value near $384 per share implies JNJ is significantly undervalued (around 46%) even after its rally, based on long‑term cash‑flow projections and a fair‑value multiple closer to 26.7x earnings. ^[26]

Investors should note:

DCF models are highly sensitive to growth and discount‑rate assumptions.
Consensus price targets from active Wall Street analysts, who tend to think in 12‑month horizons, are much more conservative than that long‑term DCF estimate.

PEG ratio and growth

MarketBeat’s bull/bear summary underlines that while JNJ’s P/E is reasonable, its PEG ratio around 2.19 hints that the stock is not a classic “deep growth at a value price” situation – you’re paying a decent premium for its stability and mid‑single‑digit revenue growth profile. ^[27]

Key risks to monitor before buying the premarket dip (or pop)

Even for a defensive name like JNJ, there are real risks that could sway trading once the market opens.

1. Talc litigation and legal overhang

Legal risk remains one of the most important overhangs:

In April 2025, a U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected J&J’s proposed $10 billion settlement aimed at resolving tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc‑based baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The ruling marked the third failure of the company’s bankruptcy‑based settlement strategy and forced JNJ back into the regular court system to defend itself. ^[28]
JNJ continues to maintain that its products are safe and do not cause cancer, but over 60,000 claimants remain, and future verdicts or settlements could materially impact sentiment and, potentially, cash flows. ^[29]

Simply Wall St explicitly points to talc and opioid litigation updates as key factors shaping investor perception, even as valuation models still flag the stock as undervalued. ^[30]

2. Execution risk on the DePuy Synthes spin‑off

JNJ has announced plans to separate its Orthopaedics business (DePuy Synthes) into a standalone company over the next 18–24 months. ^[31]

While spin‑offs can unlock value, investors will be watching:

How the new company is capitalized (and whether it takes on a disproportionate share of debt).
Whether the separation boosts growth and margins in the remaining core J&J operations.
How much near‑term disruption the separation causes in MedTech relationships and internal operations.

3. Valuation after a huge run

Even fans of the stock acknowledge that after a 40%+ year‑to‑date rally, near‑term upside may be limited:

Most 12‑month price targets sit at or below the current share price, suggesting analysts expect returns to come more from earnings growth and the dividend than from multiple expansion. ^[32]
MarketBeat’s bear case also calls out the higher PEG ratio and modest quick ratio as reasons some investors may hesitate to chase the stock at record levels. ^[33]

4. Macro & sector risks

As a global healthcare company, JNJ remains exposed to:

Drug‑pricing reforms and reimbursement pressure.
Currency swings affecting international revenue.
Macro slowdowns that could delay elective procedures and weigh on parts of the MedTech portfolio.

None of these are new, but they can amplify short‑term volatility when the stock is trading near highs.

How JNJ looks before the December 1, 2025 open

Putting the late‑November data together, here’s how Johnson & Johnson stacks up heading into Monday’s session:

Positives bulls will point to

Near‑record share price backed by fundamentals: Strong Q3 2025 results, raised full‑year guidance and robust segment growth in Oncology, Neuroscience and MedTech. ^[34]
Defensive blue‑chip profile: Low beta, diversified operations and a multi‑decade dividend‑growth track record. ^[35]
Income appeal: A roughly 2.5% dividend yield with a ~50% payout ratio and a history of regular increases. ^[36]
Broad institutional support: Nearly 70% institutional ownership, with several large investors adding to positions even as others trim. ^[37]
Some models see deep value: DCF‑based work suggests the stock could trade substantially higher over the long run if cash‑flow projections materialize. ^[38]

Concerns bears (or cautious investors) will flag

Limited near‑term upside: Consensus 12‑month price targets are clustered around current levels or slightly lower. ^[39]
Legal uncertainty: The failed talc settlement and ongoing litigation remain a wild card for headline risk and, ultimately, potential liabilities. ^[40]
Execution risk on the orthopaedics spin‑off, which could create volatility if details disappoint the market. ^[41]
Valuation vs. growth: A PEG ratio above 2 suggests JNJ is priced more like a high‑quality defensive compounder than a screaming bargain. ^[42]

Bottom line: Is JNJ stock attractive before the bell?

Going into the December 1, 2025 open, Johnson & Johnson looks like a fully priced, high‑quality compounder:

The business momentum is real – Q3 results, raised guidance, and a busy pipeline support a multi‑year growth story. ^[43]
The stock’s 2025 rally has already captured much of that optimism, leaving the share price roughly in line with, or slightly ahead of, consensus targets. ^[44]
For long‑term, dividend‑oriented investors, late‑November commentary continues to frame JNJ as a core “buy and hold” name rather than a short‑term trade. ^[45]

Whether to buy before the open, wait for a pullback, or simply hold an existing position will depend on your time horizon, risk tolerance and portfolio mix. If you’re considering an entry here, it may be sensible to:

Treat JNJ as a steady compounder, not a high‑octane growth bet.
Factor in litigation and spin‑off uncertainty when sizing any position.
Consider staggered buys or limit orders rather than going all‑in at record levels.

As always, this overview is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Before making any investment decision, consider speaking with a qualified financial advisor and reviewing your own objectives, constraints and risk profile.