BUZZ — PREVIEW: Johnson & Johnson earnings expected to decline in Q3

* Johnson & Johnson shares up 0.6% at $263.00 on Mon ahead of qtrly results before the bell, with investors watching for a rebound in its medtech unit * The healthcare conglomerate is expected to post Q3 rev of $25.28 bln and adj EPS of $2.54, down from EPS of $2.80 but up from revenue of $23.99 bln a year ago, per LSEG * Last qtr, co beat estimates on strong pharma sales but its Abiomed heart pump business saw sales decline following a critical UK study * In Sept, an experimental depression drug co-developed with Contineum Therapeutics failed to meet the main goal of a mid-stage study * JNJ has met or surpassed EPS and revenue estimates for at least past 8 qtrs * Of the 26 analysts covering Johnson & Johnson, the breakdown of recommendations is 19 "strong buy" or "buy" and 7 "hold" ratings * Median price target of $282 is unchanged over the past month * JNJ shares up ~27% YTD, outperforming ~8% gain in Dow Industrials (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak) ((charles.mikolajczak@tr.com; @chuckmik.bsky.social)