AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) rose 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $194.28 and last traded at $193.89. Approximately 864,647 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,841,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.91. The stock has a market cap of $342.50 billion, a PE ratio of 80.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 36,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,607,000. Prepared Retirement Institute LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Prepared Retirement Institute LLC now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eley Financial Management Inc raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 5,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.