AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Upgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ABBV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $242.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank set a $275.00 target price on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Barclays started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $289.00 to $299.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.43.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $204.95 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.93. The firm has a market cap of $362.38 billion, a PE ratio of 86.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. AbbVie has a twelve month low of $170.91 and a twelve month high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.39 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 1,579.75% and a net margin of 6.91%.AbbVie’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. AbbVie has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.370-14.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.010 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 293.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at $8,771,510. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently 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.