Argus Has Lowered Expectations for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Argus cut its price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140 to $125 while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 32% upside from the prior close.
• Numerous other brokers have trimmed targets too, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average analyst target of about $120.35 while the stock trades near $94.66.
• Management lowered FY guidance—citing a mild flu season and acquisition costs—which drove the post‑earnings sell‑off despite a slight Q1 earnings beat and year‑over‑year revenue growth; FY EPS guidance is $5.38–$5.58.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Argus from $140.00 to $125.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the healthcare product maker's stock. Argus' target price points to a potential upside of 32.05% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.35.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ABT opened at $94.66 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $93.92 and a 1-year high of $139.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $107.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.29. The company has a market capitalization of $164.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 24,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $102,288.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $21,995,501,000 after buying an additional 2,402,408 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,853,782 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $10,004,880,000 after buying an additional 1,627,791 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,922,519,000 after buying an additional 1,614,706 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,926,279,000 after acquiring an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,907,523,000 after purchasing an additional 400,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New long‑term diagnostics catalyst — Abbott’s CancerGuard / multi‑cancer early detection results (DETECT A) and an AACR award reinforce the company’s multi‑biomarker diagnostics story and potential long‑term revenue expansion in high‑margin testing. Abbott’s CancerGuard Progress Adds New Dimension To Diagnostics Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: “Buy the dip” narrative and dividend support — Commentary (Dividend King pieces) is promoting ABT as a long‑term income/defensive buy after the pullback, which can attract value and dividend‑oriented buyers. Abbott Laboratories: Buy The Dip On This Dividend King
• Positive Sentiment: Insider and institutional activity hints at conviction — Recent filings show insider purchases and sizeable institutional adjustments; some commentators view the post‑earnings drop as a buying opportunity given ABT’s diversified business mix and the Exact Sciences deal as a longer‑term growth driver. Abbott Laboratories Stock (ABT) Opinions on Q1 Earnings and Guidance Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer comparison — Analysis comparing Abbott with peers like Dexcom highlights different growth profiles across devices vs. diagnostics and may help investors decide which exposure suits their portfolio. Better Medical Device Stock Right Now: Abbott Laboratories vs. Dexcom
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary on entry point — Several outlets are debating whether the sell‑off creates a long‑term entry point; useful context but depends on your time horizon and tolerance for near‑term diagnostic softness. Has the Abbott Laboratories Sell-Off Finally Created an Entry Point?
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays keeps an Overweight stance despite a tiny PT trim — Barclays trimmed its price target slightly but maintained an Overweight rating, signaling some analyst support amid cuts elsewhere. Benzinga (Barclays PT note)
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance cut drove the sharp move lower — Management lowered FY guidance citing a mild flu season (diagnostic headwind) and acquisition costs; that guidance revision was the primary catalyst for the post‑earnings drop and near‑term revenue risk. Abbott Laboratories Stock (ABT) Opinions on Q1 Earnings and Guidance Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread analyst price‑target cuts — Multiple firms trimmed targets (examples: Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Piper Sandler, Oppenheimer and others), putting downward pressure on sentiment even as median targets remain above current levels. Mizuho Cuts Abbott Laboratories Price Target / example list

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.

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