AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at DZ Bank

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) was upgraded by stock analysts at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ABBV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $232.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.90.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $206.63 on Thursday. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $176.57 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.60. The company has a market cap of $365.36 billion, a PE ratio of 101.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.38.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 911.57%. The firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AbbVie will post 14.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at $8,771,510. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total transaction of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,852,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 87,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,100,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and guidance lift — AbbVie topped Q1 estimates, raised its 2026 outlook and said immunology drugs (Skyrizi, Rinvoq) are offsetting Humira declines. This is the core positive catalyst supporting analyst upgrades. Seeking Alpha: AbbVie hikes 2026 outlook BioSpace: AbbVie tops Q1, raises outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Sell?side upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms raised ratings/targets after the results (Morgan Stanley to $278, Canaccord to $265, Guggenheim reaffirm/ $249 PT, Bank of America upgraded to Buy/$234, Cantor reiterated Overweight/$240). These lifts signal renewed analyst conviction in AbbVie’s post?Humira pivot. Benzinga: analyst moves InsiderMonkey: BofA upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Skyrizi competitive defense — AbbVie outlined how Skyrizi will respond to new J&J plaque?psoriasis rival Icotyde, reinforcing confidence in market share retention for a key growth driver. FiercePharma: Skyrizi defense
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate R&D/community engagement — AbbVie awarded the AbbVie Biotech Innovators prize to RIME Therapeutics (Quebec), signalling long?term commitment to immunology innovation, but limited near?term financial impact. GlobeNewswire: RIME award
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain jittery despite the beat — WSJ coverage and market commentary highlight that, while results were strong, concerns over Humira erosion, execution risk on acquisitions/pipeline strategy, and valuation keep sentiment cautious and likely drove selling pressure. YouTube/WSJ: Investors still worried
• Negative Sentiment: Pipeline trimming and insider selling — The company discontinued a cancer candidate (noted in Q1 coverage) and recent disclosures show insiders sold shares, which can weigh on near?term sentiment. BioSpace: discontinued candidate
• Negative Sentiment: Small analyst estimate cuts and mixed institutional flows — Erste trimmed FY2026/27 EPS modestly; recent large institutional portfolio shifts (some big sellers) add uncertainty to demand. These are headwinds for the stock near term. MarketBeat: analyst/flows summary

About AbbVie

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.