AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 1.1% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $291.73 and last traded at $291.5070. 5,017,059 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 6,339,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.24.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat estimates, with revenue of $17.4 billion and higher full-year adjusted earnings guidance. The company also increased its dividend, supporting the bullish case behind its recent high. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: As technology stocks retreated, AbbVie was highlighted as a defensive healthcare stock with growth potential. Analyst coverage also described sentiment toward its outlook as optimistic, which may support demand for the shares. Defensive healthcare stocks hitting new highs
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie reported updates on early-stage drug studies, including a drug-interaction trial and a facial-line injection study. The available summaries provide no results, so the updates do not yet establish a meaningful change in the outlook. Drug-interaction study update
• Negative Sentiment: Investors still face uncertainty as Humira’s contribution fades and AbbVie’s newer growth engines must prove they can sustain momentum. Coverage also notes the stock’s high expectations, leaving less room for disappointment. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets set a $315.00 price target on AbbVie in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on AbbVie from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $271.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.65. The firm has a market cap of $515.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.32 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 450.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.82 per share. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.10%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,500. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 37.0% in the first quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in AbbVie by 11.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 447,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,516,000 after buying an additional 45,132 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $23,557,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 134,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,865,000 after acquiring an additional 9,380 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,596,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,784,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,232 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.