Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $155.00 to $140.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 30.28% from the company’s current price.

ABT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.79.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.1%

ABT stock opened at $107.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $186.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $105.78 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 3,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 14,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 12,555 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.