AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Upgraded at Daiwa America

Key Points

• Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increasing confidence in the company's stock performance.
• Other firms like Guggenheim raised their target price for AbbVie, with an average price target of $214.43, while analysts maintain a general rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share for its last quarter, which was below the consensus estimate, but its revenue exceeded expectations with $15.42 billion reported.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Daiwa America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ABBV has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock traded down $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $198.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,101,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,210,216. The firm has a market cap of $349.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $189.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.21. AbbVie has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $1,066,000. Eley Financial Management Inc raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 5,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. 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.