AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Short Interest Up 11.3% in November

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,170,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the October 31st total of 18,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV traded down $1.11 on Monday, reaching $181.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,362,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,529,595. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.30 billion, a PE ratio of 62.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.02. AbbVie has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $207.32.

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

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 215.28%.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AbbVie

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.