Johnson & Johnson shares rose Tuesday, following a rating upgrade from Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley David Lewis raised his rating on the pharma & medical devices maker's stock to overweight from equal weight.
Lewis also boosted his price target for the shares to $170 a share from $145.
In a note to investors, Lewis called Johnson & Johnson shares "the most under-owned stock in healthcare" . The analyst cited the following factors behind his optimism for JNJ’s attractiveness in 2020: “(1) multiple regulatory actions aimed at controlling pharmaceutical pricing are more reflected, (2) pharma growth like accelerates in 2020, which historically has lifted the multiple and (3) the portfolio is now more balanced with consumer stabilizing and medical devices and diagnostics coming off six consecutive quarters of momentum improvement."
Major growth drivers include the cooling off of pharma headwinds, strong performances by franchises such as Stelara and Darzalex, and pipeline drivers such as Tremfya and Spravato – according to Lewis.