The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.28% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ABT. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $162.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.79.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 109.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 29,412 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 15,394 shares in 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 329,430 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $43,785,000 after purchasing an additional 18,974 shares in the last quarter. Seaview Investment Managers LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $11,068,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 327,763 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $43,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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

About Abbott Laboratories

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.