AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 2.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. shares increased by 2.1%, trading at $210.45, with a significant decline in share volume of 80% compared to its average daily trading volume.
• Multiple analysts upgraded their price targets for AbbVie, with a consensus target of $214.95, reflecting a "Moderate Buy" rating from the investment community.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share in their most recent quarter, missing estimates but achieving revenue of $15.42 billion, which exceeded analyst expectations.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $211.69 and last traded at $210.45. Approximately 1,360,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,654,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Price Performance

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 capitalization of $369.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.53, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $192.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after purchasing an additional 125,568 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.