AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has raised its target price for AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.18% from the current stock price.
• The earnings report for AbbVie revealed that the company missed consensus estimates with $2.97 earnings per share compared to the expected $3.24, despite revenue increasing 6.6% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors continue to show strong interest, with Vanguard Group increasing its position by 1.9% and owning over 177 million shares following recent transactions.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $215.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.18% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.76.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.8%

ABBV stock opened at $218.40 on Monday. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $221.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $200.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $385.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,298,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,910,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380,842 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,178,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,240,169,000 after purchasing an additional 924,761 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,783,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,970,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,222 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,288,200,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,612,357,000 after purchasing an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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