AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• AbbVie has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting concerns about the company's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, AbbVie maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $231.90, as analysts show mixed sentiments.
• Recent insider trading saw executives Azita Saleki-Gerhardt and Nicholas Donoghoe selling significant shares, marking a notable decrease in their ownership.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.90.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $230.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $407.86 billion, a PE ratio of 109.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51. AbbVie has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 23.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,235,000 after buying an additional 9,395 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 2.2% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,153,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 9.4% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently 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.

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