AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 2.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $215.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $190.86 and last traded at $188.71. 2,925,508 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 6,047,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.90.

ABBV has been the subject of several other research reports. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. GGM Financials LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Professional Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.84 and its 200-day moving average is $185.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.16, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 257.91%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.