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Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) is set to report earnings before the bell Wednesday, with analysts expecting revenue and profit growth from the same time last year.

Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the pharmaceutical and medical device maker, with six of the 12 analysts covering the stock tracked by Visible Alpha giving it a "buy" rating, and six giving it "hold" ratings . Their average price target of about $175 would imply 19% upside from Friday's close.

Revenue and net income are expected to rise to $22.51 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively, from $21.4 billion and $4.05 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

After a brief surge following the company's third-quarter earnings report, Johnson & Johnson shares trended lower from mid-October through the end of 2024, ending the year down nearly 8%. They've gained close to 2% in January so far, at $147.03 as of Friday's close.

J&J Faces Unresolved Talc Suits, Credit Rating Risk

The company faces a number of headwinds entering the new year, including an expiring patent bringing competition to one of its most popular drugs, and the still-unresolved class action lawsuit alleging that its talc powder caused ovarian cancer. Hearings are scheduled for early this year that will determine whether the company's plan for a subsidiary to file for bankruptcy and multi-billion dollar settlement package will be allowed to go forward.

The biopharma company made a number of acquisitions in 2024, and started 2025 with another deal to acquire drugmaker Intra-Cellular Therapies ( ITCI ) for $14.6 billion, expecting to close the deal sometime this year.

J&J said it expected to finance the deal with a combination of cash and debt. However, the Intra-Cellular deal and potential for other future debt-based acquisitions led Standard & Poor's last week to say the company's AAA credit rating could be at risk, Bloomberg reported .

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