New York, February 22, 2026, 12:07 EST — Market closed.
- Johnson & Johnson shares last closed at $242.49 on Friday, down 1.8%.
- J&J posted new three-year Tremfya data in ulcerative colitis over the weekend.
- The stock goes ex-dividend on Feb. 24, with a key inflation print due later in the week.
Johnson & Johnson NYSE:JNJ shares closed down 1.8% on Friday at $242.49, leaving the JNJ stock price softer into the weekend.
The market is closed on Sunday, but the setup for Monday is already cluttered: a weekend drug update, an ex-dividend date and lingering questions about what happens to the company’s orthopedics arm.
Rates sit in the background after U.S. core PCE inflation rose 0.4% in December and ran 3.0% year on year, firmer than economists expected, a Reuters report on Friday showed. That matters for dividend-heavy healthcare names, where small shifts in rate bets can change the math.
J&J added a pipeline catalyst on Saturday, saying new long-term data from its QUASAR study extension showed 80.8% of ulcerative colitis patients on Tremfya were in clinical remission at Week 140, with 53.6% in endoscopic remission — no visible inflammation during a scope exam. Study investigator Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet said patients “need treatment options that remain effective and well-tolerated over time,” and J&J’s Esi Lamousé-Smith added the results were “raising expectations for what is possible for patients with ulcerative colitis.” JNJ.com
Tremfya targets interleukin-23, an immune signal, and the company’s investor material cites AbbVie’s Skyrizi and Eli Lilly’s Omvoh among other IL-23 medicines. For the stock, longer follow-up tends to feed the slower debate around durability, safety and price.
Deal talk is the other lever. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Feb. 19 that J&J was preparing a potential sale of its DePuy Synthes orthopedics unit that could top $20 billion, with private equity firms seen as likely buyers; the business generated $9.3 billion in 2025 sales. The report said CFO Joe Wolk does not expect further material updates on the separation until mid-2026.
Income investors have a nearer date. J&J’s board declared a $1.30-per-share quarterly dividend payable March 10, and the stock is set to trade ex-dividend on Feb. 24 — the cutoff after which new buyers no longer get the payout.
The calendar does not stop there. The Conference Board’s next consumer confidence report is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. ET, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to publish the Producer Price Index for January on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
None of that rewrites J&J’s story in a day, but it can set the tone for a stock that often trades like a bond proxy when volatility rises.
The downside risk remains the legal drumbeat. J&J is facing more than 67,000 lawsuits over talc products, and a Pennsylvania jury this month awarded $250,000 to a family that blamed the company’s baby powder for ovarian cancer; J&J said it plans to appeal. “This token verdict reflects the jury’s appreciation that the claims were meritless and divorced from the science,” said Erik Haas, the company’s worldwide vice president of litigation. Reuters
Management is also due back on the conference circuit, with appearances at TD Cowen’s health-care meeting on March 3 and Barclays’ global healthcare conference on March 10, the company said.
For Monday, the first read will be whether the Tremfya update draws buyers or whether investors keep the stock boxed in by rates and litigation headlines. Feb. 24’s ex-dividend date is the next mechanical catalyst.
