AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.2% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• AbbVie shares rose 1.2% in midday trading, reaching as high as $215.64, though volume was below average at about 3.8 million shares.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and Bank of America upgrading AbbVie to buy; MarketBeat now shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $253.43 average target.
• Recent results were solid, as AbbVie beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and posted 12.4% year-over-year revenue growth, while institutional ownership remains high at 70.23%.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $215.64 and last traded at $214.8550. 3,794,239 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 6,984,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $294.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.43.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $379.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.73.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,747,261 shares of the company's stock worth $41,155,601,000 after purchasing an additional 448,554 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,044,690 shares of the company's stock worth $241,888,000 after purchasing an additional 151,644 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 25.5% in the third quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,024,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 10.5% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 55,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,885,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 32,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,484,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AbbVie

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.