Leerink Partnrs Comments on AbbVie Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) – Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AbbVie in a report released on Friday, April 5th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Risinger now anticipates that the company will earn $2.22 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for AbbVie’s current full-year earnings is $11.12 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for AbbVie’s Q2 2024 earnings at $2.84 EPS.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. William Blair upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $169.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $300.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie has a 12-month low of $130.96 and a 12-month high of $182.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lokken Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its position in AbbVie by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Avion Wealth grew its position in AbbVie by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 5,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, CFO Scott T. Reents sold 14,140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total value of $2,509,001.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,065 shares in the company, valued at $4,802,413.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott T. Reents sold 14,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $2,509,001.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,065 shares in the company, valued at $4,802,413.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

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.