Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Expected Move
Expected move estimates the probable price range for a given period based on at-the-money options pricing. It reflects the market consensus for volatility over the selected timeframe.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) operates in the Healthcare sector, specifically the Drug Manufacturers - General industry, with a market capitalization near $628.65B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 141,700 people, carrying a beta of 0.23 to the broader market. Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. Led by Joaquin Duato, public since 1962-01-02.
Snapshot as of Aug 14, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $260.35
- Expected Move
- 6.0%
- Implied High
- $275.95
- Implied Low
- $244.75
- Front DTE
- 28 days
As of Aug 14, 2026, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has an expected move of 5.99%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $244.75 to $275.95 from the current $260.35. Expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market's pricing of a ±1σ move. Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within this range under lognormal assumptions, though empirical markets have fatter tails.
JNJ Strategy Sizing to the Expected Move
With Johnson & Johnson pricing an expected move of 5.99% from $260.35, risk-defined strategies sized to the implied range structurally target the modal outcome distribution. Iron condors with wings at the ±1σ expected move boundaries collect premium against the ~68% probability that spot stays inside the range under lognormal assumptions; strangles set wider at ±1.5σ or ±2σ target the tails but pay smaller per-trade premium. Long-vol structures (long straddles, ratio backspreads) profit when realized move exceeds the implied move, the inverse trade: they bet against the lognormal assumption itself, capitalizing on the empirically fatter equity-return tails.
How to read the JNJ implied-range chart
The shaded range above shows the one-standard-deviation implied price band at each listed expiration, derived from ATM implied volatility scaled to days-to-expiration. The front-tenor expected move is 5.99%, anchoring an implied range of approximately $244.75 to $275.95. Under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside that band; 95% fall inside ±2σ; 99.7% inside ±3σ. The empirical equity-return distribution has fatter tails than lognormal, so true tail-outcome frequency is moderately higher than these closed-form numbers suggest.
JNJ expected move and event pricing
Expected move widens with √time: a 5% 30-day move corresponds to roughly a 2.5% 7.5-day move and a 10% 120-day move. JNJ term-structure is in contango (slope 0.006), so longer-dated tenors price in proportionally more vol than √time scaling alone would suggest - typically because long-dated cycles include uncertain macro states.
Sizing JNJ structures to the expected move
Iron condors with wings at ±1σ collect the modal-outcome premium; ±1.5σ widens probability of inside-range to ~87% but cuts collected premium roughly in half. Strangles do the inverse trade - they pay against the same lognormal distribution, profiting when realized exceeds implied. Calendar spreads bet on the slope of the term structure rather than the level. JNJ put/call volume ratio currently at 0.68 indicates balanced flow without strong directional skew. The expected move is the inputs the chain is pricing, not a forecast - realized moves above or below are normal under any distribution.
Learn how expected move is reported and how to read the data →
Per-expiration expected move for JNJ derived from ATM implied volatility at each listed expiration. Implied high/low bounds are computed as $260.35 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.
| Expiration | DTE | ATM IV | Expected Move | Implied High | Implied Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | 7 | 19.7% | 2.7% | $267.45 | $253.25 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 14 | 20.7% | 4.1% | $270.90 | $249.80 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 21 | 21.3% | 5.1% | $273.65 | $247.05 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 28 | 20.7% | 5.7% | $275.28 | $245.42 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 35 | 21.3% | 6.6% | $277.52 | $243.18 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 42 | 21.4% | 7.3% | $279.25 | $241.45 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 49 | 22.1% | 8.1% | $281.43 | $239.27 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 63 | 24.7% | 10.3% | $287.07 | $233.63 |
| Dec 18, 2026 | 126 | 24.6% | 14.5% | $297.98 | $222.72 |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 154 | 24.7% | 16.0% | $302.12 | $218.58 |
| Mar 19, 2027 | 217 | 25.2% | 19.4% | $310.94 | $209.76 |
| Jun 17, 2027 | 307 | 25.0% | 22.9% | $320.04 | $200.66 |
| Dec 17, 2027 | 490 | 24.6% | 28.5% | $334.56 | $186.14 |
| Jan 21, 2028 | 525 | 25.1% | 30.1% | $338.72 | $181.98 |
| Dec 15, 2028 | 854 | 25.2% | 38.5% | $360.71 | $159.99 |
Frequently asked JNJ expected move questions
- What is the current JNJ expected move?
- As of Aug 14, 2026, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has an expected move of 5.99% over the next 28 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $244.75 to $275.95 from the current $260.35. The expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market consensus for a ±1σ price move.
- What does the JNJ expected move mean for traders?
- Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within ±1 expected move and 95% within ±2 under lognormal assumptions, though equity returns have empirically fatter tails than log-normal predicts. Strategies sized to the expected move (iron condors at ±1σ, strangles at ±1.5σ) target the typical outcome distribution; strategies that profit from tail moves (long-vol structures, ratio backspreads) target the tails the lognormal model under-prices.
- How is JNJ expected move calculated?
- The expected move displayed here is derived from at-the-money implied volatility scaled to the chosen tenor: expected move % is approximately ATM IV times sqrt(T / 365), where T is days to expiration. An equivalent straddle-based form: the ATM straddle (call + put at the same strike) is roughly sqrt(2/pi) times spot times IV times sqrt(T/365), so the implied one-standard-deviation move is approximately 1.25 times ATM straddle divided by spot. The two formulations agree once the sqrt(2/pi) constant is reconciled.