AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $208.35.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.9 %

ABBV opened at $191.74 on Thursday. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.01 and a 200-day moving average of $185.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.