The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs cut its price target on Abbott to $140 from $152 while maintaining a "buy" rating, and the Street consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target around $143.37.
• Q4 results showed adjusted EPS of $1.50 that met estimates but revenue missed at $11.46B versus roughly $11.8B expected; Abbott set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $1.120–1.180 and FY 2026 guidance of $5.55–5.80.
• Weakness in Nutrition and Diagnostics, a spike in put-option activity, and regulatory scrutiny in India have pressured the stock, which trades near $108.69 (close to its 1‑year low) despite strong cash generation and high institutional ownership.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the healthcare product maker's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price points to a potential upside of 28.81% from the company's previous close.

ABT has been the subject of a number of other reports. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.37.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $108.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,307,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,972,974. The company's fifty day moving average is $125.23 and its 200 day moving average is $128.54. The company has a market cap of $189.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $105.78 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 31.88%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 123,773 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $15,508,000 after buying an additional 4,649 shares in the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,406 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 4,706 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Capital Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 135.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 10,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side analysts kept constructive ratings and still see meaningful upside — Piper Sandler cut its price target to $135 but remains "overweight," and BTIG trimmed its target to $140 while keeping a "buy" call, signaling continued analyst confidence despite the pullback. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Med tech (devices) and Established Pharmaceuticals delivered strong growth (double‑digit devices, mid‑single to high single pharma), which management says helped offset weakness in other segments and supports the company’s multi‑year growth thesis. Blockonomi
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentators view the pullback as a potential buying opportunity for long‑term investors because Abbott remains a cash‑generative Dividend King with capacity for buybacks and continued margin improvement. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted EPS of $1.50 matched consensus, showing underlying earnings resilience even as revenues lagged; GAAP results included items that lowered headline net income. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company guidance: Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.120–1.180 (below the ~1.20 consensus) and FY 2026 adjusted EPS of $5.55–5.80 (around consensus). Guidance tempered near‑term expectations but keeps mid/longer‑term growth intact. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed Street estimates (~$11.46–11.5B reported vs. ~$11.8–11.9B expected); the Nutrition business declined sharply (near‑9% year‑over‑year) and Diagnostics weakened (lower COVID testing and volatility), which triggered the market sell‑off. Reuters Blockonomi
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish positioning: intraday put option volume spiked sharply, indicating heavy hedging or speculative bearish bets that can amplify downward price moves. (Reported market activity)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal overhang: documents show India regulators are scrutinizing supply of a codeine‑based cough syrup tied to abuse investigations, introducing potential reputational and compliance risk. Reuters

About Abbott Laboratories

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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