AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by HSBC

Key Points

• AbbVie has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by HSBC, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a mix of "strong buy", "buy", and "hold" ratings and an average target price of $223.45.
• AbbVie's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.97, which fell short of expectations, though revenues increased by 6.6% year-over-year.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock traded up $8.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $240.12. 4,071,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,444,370. AbbVie has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $240.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a market cap of $424.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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