AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 2.2% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $235.31 and last traded at $235.04. Approximately 7,182,460 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 6,780,022 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.01.

AbbVie News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s announced $10.9 billion acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics is being viewed as a strategic move to deepen its immunology pipeline, with analysts and media coverage highlighting potential upside from late-stage eczema and respiratory assets. AbbVie Just Sparked a 46% Rally in Apogee. Here’s Why This $10.9 Billion Deal Could Be a Win for AbbVie Investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord raised its price target on AbbVie to $273 from $265 and reiterated a Buy rating after updating its model for the Apogee deal, signaling confidence in AbbVie’s longer-term growth outlook. Canaccord Says AbbVie’s (ABBV) Apogee Deal Strengthens Long-Term Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie also received EU approval for Skyrizi in pediatric plaque psoriasis, expanding the drug’s addressable market and adding another catalyst for its immunology franchise. AbbVie Gets EU Nod for Skyrizi in Pediatric Plaque Psoriasis

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $298.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.81.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $430.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.83.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 340.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. LFG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 11.4% during the first quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 30,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 75,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,434,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 3,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp lifted its position in AbbVie by 6.3% in the first quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 3,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Company 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.