AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 1.4% on Analyst Upgrade

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $273.00 to $282.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $258.38 and last traded at $256.80. 4,410,052 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 7,082,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.30.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $249.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.10.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,494,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,274 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,900,617,000 after purchasing an additional 356,394 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $5,865,055,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.57 and a 200 day moving average of $222.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.64, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.89%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.