AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Climb 1.1% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $291.73 and last traded at $291.5070. 5,017,059 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 6,339,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.24.

AbbVie News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat estimates, with revenue of $17.4 billion and higher full-year adjusted earnings guidance. The company also increased its dividend, supporting the bullish case behind its recent high. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: As technology stocks retreated, AbbVie was highlighted as a defensive healthcare stock with growth potential. Analyst coverage also described sentiment toward its outlook as optimistic, which may support demand for the shares. Defensive healthcare stocks hitting new highs
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie reported updates on early-stage drug studies, including a drug-interaction trial and a facial-line injection study. The available summaries provide no results, so the updates do not yet establish a meaningful change in the outlook. Drug-interaction study update
• Negative Sentiment: Investors still face uncertainty as Humira’s contribution fades and AbbVie’s newer growth engines must prove they can sustain momentum. Coverage also notes the stock’s high expectations, leaving less room for disappointment. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on AbbVie from $290.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $218.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $310.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $271.31 and a 200-day moving average of $238.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.17, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 450.55%. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be paid a $1.82 dividend. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,607,500. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3,060.0% in the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.