Shares of Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rise 1.9% to $252.77 ahead of its quarterly earnings report due before markets open on Wednesday

** Wall Street analysts expect JNJ to report ~3% growth in adj EPS to $2.85; revenue is seen growing 5.50% to $25 bln

** JNJ's rev and adj EPS have met or exceeded analyst expectations every time in the last 8 quarters

** JNJ's medical device subsidiary Abiomed won a jury trial in Massachusetts over allegations that it violated Maquet Cardiovascular's patent rights in heart-pump technology.

** Among 27 analysts that cover JNJ, avg rating is "BUY" and median PT is $264, per LSEG data

** JNJ is up 22.3% YTD vs S&P 500 health index .SPXHC, which is up 2.25% in the same period