Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 7,698 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its AbbVie stake by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,698 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 344,320 shares worth about $78.7 million.
• AbbVie’s stock was up 3.5%, with shares opening at $224.81. The company remains widely held by institutions, which own about 70.23% of the stock.
• Recent updates were mixed but mostly positive: AbbVie beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, while new wins for Elahere and Aquipta could expand future sales; however, the company also ended an early-stage lung cancer trial for ABBV-647.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,320 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $78,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 160.4% in the 4th quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $224.81 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $209.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.73 and a 52-week high of $244.81. The company has a market cap of $397.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.74, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie won U.K. NHS backing for Elahere, its ovarian cancer therapy, and Reuters reported the British drug-cost watchdog recommended the treatment for a hard-to-treat form of ovarian cancer, improving access and potential sales in a key market. British drug-cost watchdog recommends use of AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: The company also received European Commission approval for Aquipta to treat migraine, adding a second approved migraine indication and broadening the drug’s commercial opportunity. AbbVie receives EC approval for Aquipta to treat migraine
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage also highlighted AbbVie’s oncology strategy after Decnupaz approval, signaling that management is building a larger antibody-drug conjugate pipeline that could create longer-term upside. Does Decnupaz Approval Validate ABBV's ADC Strategy in Oncology?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent clinical-study updates, including completion of an upadacitinib study in China and a bioavailability study for ABBV-932, suggest steady pipeline progress, but they are not immediate revenue catalysts. AbbVie Completes Real World Upadacitinib Study in China: What Investors Should Watch AbbVie Advances ABBV-932 With Completed Bioavailability Study
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie also ended an early-stage lung cancer trial for ABBV-647, which trims one potential oncology growth driver and adds some caution around pipeline execution. AbbVie Ends Early Lung Cancer Trial for ABBV-647

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AbbVie from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.43.

AbbVie Profile

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.

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