AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $258.45 and last changing hands around $259.20, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Recent drug and deal news has been bullish, including enthusiasm over the Apogee Therapeutics acquisition, milestone venetoclax data in CLL, and encouraging lymphoma trial results for Epkinly with Genmab.
• Risks remain despite the rally, as some analysts have trimmed earnings estimates and U.S. lawmakers are reportedly probing AbbVie’s China clinical-trial activities, creating possible regulatory and geopolitical headwinds.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $258.45 and last traded at $259.20, with a volume of 817884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $251.06.

Trending Headlines about AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s recent acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics is being viewed as a strategically accretive deal that could widen its already strong moat and support longer-term pipeline growth. AbbVie: Apogee Deal Just Widened An Already Dominant Moat
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie highlighted milestone data for venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, reinforcing confidence in its oncology portfolio and the durability of one of its key franchises. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Hits New Milestone with Venetoclax on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Treatment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AbbVie’s beat-and-raise track record, dividend strength, and pipeline expansion as reasons the stock deserves a premium valuation. J&J or AbbVie: Which Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio Now?
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab reported encouraging lymphoma trial results, which could expand the opportunity for Epkinly and support additional label growth. Genmab/AbbVie Lymphoma Trial Meets Main Goal, Analyst Eyes Bigger Market Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie remains part of broader dividend-stock and healthcare-stock commentary, which supports a positive investor tone but does not add a major new catalyst on its own. 3 Dividend Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in July
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate slightly, suggesting some analysts still see modest pressure on AbbVie’s earnings outlook despite the recent rally. What Sparked the $43B Jump in AbbVie's Market Cap in the Past Week?
• Negative Sentiment: News that U.S. lawmakers are probing AbbVie’s China clinical-trial activities could create headline risk and raise investor concerns around regulatory and geopolitical exposure. Merck, AbbVie probed by US lawmakers over China clinical trials: report

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, June 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.81.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $458.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.76.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 340.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock worth $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,494,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,274 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,190,487 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company's stock worth $5,900,617,000 after purchasing an additional 356,394 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,865,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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