AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $175.65, but opened at $187.30. AbbVie shares last traded at $189.08, with a volume of 1,642,057 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Barclays raised their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.00.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $332.02 billion, a PE ratio of 65.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $176.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.84.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 27,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $562,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $2,313,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 7,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 270.0% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 272,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,373,000 after buying an additional 198,647 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is 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.