AbbVie Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 39,550 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average daily volume of 26,055 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $189.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $176.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.26. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.16, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 257.91%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AbbVie

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.