New York, Feb 24, 2026, 15:02 (ET) — Regular session
- Johnson & Johnson shares were little changed in afternoon trading, with U.S. stocks higher.
- Focus is on oncology updates and legal risk tied to drug marketing claims.
- Dividend mechanics added noise to the day’s move.
Johnson & Johnson shares were little changed in afternoon trading on Tuesday as investors digested a mix of drug and legal headlines. The stock was down about 0.1% at $245.6, while the S&P 500 was up about 0.8%. The shares have traded between roughly $244.6 and $247.3 so far in the session, after rising 1.4% on Monday. (Trading Economics)
The company’s steady grind higher this year has left it priced for fewer surprises. That makes traders quick to react when anything touches its two core engines — big-ticket medicines and medical devices — or adds legal friction.
Oncology is central to that balance right now. New dosing options and label tweaks can help in the clinic, but rivals still probe claims that look like head-to-head superiority, and those fights can spill into court.
Johnson & Johnson said on Monday the European Commission approved additional dosing regimens for subcutaneous Rybrevant (amivantamab) — a shot under the skin — extending its marketing authorisation across all previously approved intravenous indications. It said the PALOMA studies supported the change, and that subcutaneous administration takes about five minutes versus about five hours for the first IV infusion. “Having the option to transition from every-two-week to every-four-week dosing allows us to better align treatment with individual patient needs,” Silvia Novello, a professor at the University of Turin, said in the company statement. (Jnj)
Bayer sued Johnson & Johnson on Monday in Manhattan federal court, saying a new Erleada campaign falsely claims a “51% reduction in risk of death” versus Bayer’s rival prostate-cancer drug Nubeqa. Bayer argued the comparison relied on a retrospective, real-world analysis and was skewed by selection bias, and it asked for an injunction and damages; Erleada sales were $3.57 billion in 2025, while Nubeqa sales were 1.63 billion euros in the first nine months of 2025, the complaint said. A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson pushed back by email: “Litigation does not change data.” (Reuters)
Real-world evidence is data pulled from routine care, rather than a controlled clinical trial. It can help answer questions quickly, but critics often argue it can bake in hidden differences between patient groups — the “selection bias” Bayer is leaning on.
The stock was also trading ex-dividend on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend payable on March 10 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 24; the ex-dividend date is Feb. 24, meaning buyers from Tuesday do not get that payout. (Johnson & Johnson Investor Relations)
A separate filing showed MedTech chief Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares at $245.66 on Feb. 20, leaving him with 25,447 shares held directly. (SEC)
Blackstone Life Sciences said it struck a co-funding agreement with Johnson & Johnson to jointly finance a portion of ongoing and future clinical trials of bleximenib (JNJ-75276617), an investigational oral menin inhibitor for acute myeloid leukemia. “We believe that bleximenib’s promising clinical data, combined with Johnson & Johnson’s deep expertise … create a strong foundation,” Blackstone’s Nicholas Galakatos said. (Blackstone)
But the path from headline to sales is rarely clean. The Bayer case could drag on and, if it results in limits on promotional language, it could cool momentum for Erleada even without touching the drug’s label.
Investors’ next scheduled checkpoint is March 10, when company management is set to appear at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference in a fireside chat at 11:30 a.m. ET. Traders will listen for anything on the pace of oncology launches and how the company plans to handle the latest courtroom pressure. (Johnson & Johnson Investor Relations)
