AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.3% - Time to Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $190.28 and last traded at $189.91. 617,642 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,215,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price target (down previously from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.19.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.80. The company has a market capitalization of $334.98 billion, a PE ratio of 79.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $309,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company's stock worth $14,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings 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. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

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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