BTIG Research Has Lowered Expectations for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $157.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.79.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $107.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $105.78 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.77 and a 200 day moving average of $128.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 109.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 29,412 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 15,394 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 858,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $115,032,000 after purchasing an additional 19,966 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 329,430 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $43,785,000 after purchasing an additional 18,974 shares during the period. Seaview Investment Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,068,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 327,763 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $43,901,000 after buying an additional 5,294 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MedTech and pharma strength, and EPS resilience — Abbott reported adjusted Q4 EPS growth (company highlighted margin improvements) and strong MedTech (+~12%) and Established Pharma (+~9%) performance that partly offset Nutrition weakness; management still projects FY‑2026 adjusted EPS growth. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts keep buy/outperform stance despite cuts — several major firms trimmed price targets after the print but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings, signaling conviction in the longer‑term story even as near‑term expectations were tempered. Analyst Reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentators view the pullback as a buying opportunity — market commentators highlight ABT’s dividend history, cash flow and buyback capacity, suggesting the drop may create an attractive entry for long‑term investors. MarketBeat: Pullback Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call and transcripts available — investors can review management commentary and segment detail in the Q4 earnings call transcript for color on nutrition, diagnostics and Exact/other strategic items. Earnings Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/valuation commentary circulates — value and dividend‑focused outlets are flagging ABT as attractively valued after the pullback; this is background context rather than a near‑term catalyst. Zacks: Value Take
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss driven by Nutrition and Diagnostics — Q4 revenue (~$11.5B) fell short of consensus, with Nutrition down sharply (~8–9%) and Diagnostics weak, sparking the initial selloff. Reuters: Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance slightly below Street — Abbott set Q1 EPS and FY‑2026 EPS ranges that sit near or a touch below consensus, increasing near‑term revenue/growth concerns. Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price‑target cuts — a raft of firms (Citigroup, Goldman, Raymond James, Sanford Bernstein, Oppenheimer, RBC, etc.) trimmed targets, which can amplify selling pressure even if ratings remain constructive. Benzinga: PT Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Options and hedging activity spiked — an unusual surge in put buying suggests traders are positioning for further near‑term downside (heightened bearish sentiment).
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny in India — reports of an investigation into alleged misuse of a codeine‑based cough syrup (Abbott Healthcare) add an extra headline risk in emerging markets. Reuters: India Scrutiny

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.