Wells Fargo & Company Increases AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Price Target to $260.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) from $240.00 to $260.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.13% from its current price.
• Currently, AbbVie holds an "overweight" rating from Wells Fargo, while other analysts have mixed reviews, including a range of ratings from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, though its revenue was up 6.6% year-over-year, totaling $15.42 billion.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $240.00 to $260.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.13% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.10.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $220.09 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $199.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.48. AbbVie has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $221.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.80 billion, a PE ratio of 104.81, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,288,200,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,819,154,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 18,384.4% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,705,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,059,141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 550.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,332,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,666,521 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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