Traders Purchase Large Volume of AbbVie Call Options (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 477,943 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,599% compared to the average daily volume of 17,707 call options.

AbbVie Stock Down 2.4%

AbbVie stock traded down $5.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $216.66. 6,952,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,644,876. The company has a market capitalization of $382.91 billion, a PE ratio of 164.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $226.89 and a 200 day moving average of $216.08. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $164.39 and a 1-year high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 3,216.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. AbbVie has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.320-3.360 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 496.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $261.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $289.00 price objective (up from $284.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.84.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Alesco Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.1% during the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 205,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,141,000 after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options flow: unusually heavy buying of call options (about 477,943 calls) signals speculative or hedged bullish bets by traders that could amplify upside if catalysts arrive.
• Positive Sentiment: Completed Phase 1 for ABBV?CLS?616 (Calico collaboration) — early clinical progress supports AbbVie’s oncology/age?related disease R&D narrative and could be a future value driver. AbbVie Quietly Advances ABBV?CLS?616
• Positive Sentiment: First?in?human trial completed for obesity candidate GUB014295 — bolsters AbbVie’s push into the fast?growing obesity market and adds near?to?mid term pipeline optionality. AbbVie Advances Obesity Pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership / M&A activity in oncology — collaboration with RemeGen on a novel bispecific antibody and messaging at JPM about a “clear line of sight” to growth through the 2030s support the long?term narrative. AbbVie, RemeGen Partner on Novel Bispecific Antibody JPM26, Day 3: AbbVie touts ‘clear line of sight’
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic push into obesity: AbbVie is planning a major build?out in the obesity market after licensing a weight?loss drug from Gubra — high potential but execution?dependent and capital intensive. AbbVie plans to build out its presence in obesity market
• Neutral Sentiment: Big public commitments and analysis (strategy pieces, JPM transcript) provide context but are not immediate earnings drivers; they matter for medium?term investor sentiment. JPM Conference Transcript The AbbVie strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Report that AbbVie may invest up to $100B in the U.S. for tariff exemptions — large and headline?grabbing but would be multi?year and dependent on policy, so treat as a long?term variable. AbbVie to invest $100 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term price weakness: coverage pieces note the stock closed down and pulled back from recent highs — likely a mix of profit?taking, high valuation multiples, and rotation away from big pharma in the short term. AbbVie (ABBV) Stock Dips While Market Gains

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.