AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AbbVie from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $173.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.