AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for AbbVie’s FY2026 earnings at $13.69 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $15.36 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $16.79 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $176.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $189.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.63. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $137.65 and a 52 week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.9% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $445,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $466,000. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.4% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,403,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.