AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Falls 2.1% – Time to Sell?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) dropped 2.1% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $286.14 and last traded at $288.6560. Approximately 8,834,601 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 6,341,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.89.

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie secured global rights to Nxera’s investigational oral IBD drug NXE0033744. The deal includes $100 million upfront, up to $1.37 billion in development and commercial milestones, and tiered royalties. The agreement could strengthen AbbVie’s future immunology pipeline, but milestone payments depend on development and commercial progress. Nxera licensing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their AbbVie price targets, adding to a favorable near-term outlook. Morgan Stanley price target update
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie expanded its Oxford research facility as part of an investment exceeding £120 million, supporting longer-term research in immunology, neurology and oncology. Reuters report on Oxford R&D expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated full-year revenue guidance of $67.8 billion is slightly above consensus, while projected EPS of $13.95–$13.99 is broadly in line. Fourth-quarter revenue guidance also edged above expectations, but EPS guidance of $3.83–$3.87 is below the $3.89 consensus. AbbVie outlook and valuation
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie discontinued a Phase 2 solid-tumor drug program after seeing “limited benefit,” a setback for that part of its pipeline. Report on discontinued drug program

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AbbVie from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on AbbVie from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $519.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.28.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.32 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 435.41%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a $1.82 dividend. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,607,500. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the third quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 3.3% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 22.8% in the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Financial Group Inc. now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV) is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines and other healthcare products. Its portfolio focuses on immunology, oncology, neuroscience, aesthetics and eye care, serving patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.

The company’s key products include immunology medicines such as Skyrizi and Rinvoq; neuroscience treatments including Vraylar, Ubrelvy and Qulipta; and oncology products such as Imbruvica and Venclexta.