AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Upgraded at Berenberg Bank

Key Points

• AbbVie was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Berenberg Bank, with a new target price set at $270.00, reflecting a potential upside of approximately 24.84% from its current pricing.
• Analysts exhibit a generally positive outlook on AbbVie, with four rated as Strong Buy, seventeen as Buy, and six as Hold, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $222.68.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS for the latest quarter, falling short of expectations but saw revenue increase by 6.6% year-over-year, totaling $15.42 billion.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Berenberg Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $270.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $170.00. Berenberg Bank's price objective suggests a potential upside of 24.84% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ABBV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.68.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $216.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $382.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $221.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $201.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,504 shares of the company's stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 3,939 shares in the last quarter. American Trust grew its stake in AbbVie by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 23,890 shares of the company's stock worth $4,434,000 after buying an additional 6,421 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.