AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 2% After Analyst Upgrade
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemShares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV – Get Free Report) traded up 2% on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $269.00 to $270.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $225.82 and last traded at $223.50. 6,049,138 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 7,671,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.02.
Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $256.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $258.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ABBV
AbbVie News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $270 and kept an “overweight” call, signaling institutional analyst conviction that AbbVie has double‑digit upside from current levels. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Company forecasts for full‑year 2026 profit came in above estimates, driven by strong sales of newer immunology drugs (Skyrizi, Rinvoq), supporting the case for continued top‑line and earnings growth. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and some analysts view the post‑earnings pullback as a buying opportunity, pointing to institutional accumulation, durable cash flow, and a strong dividend as anchors for medium‑term returns. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: New real‑world Rinvoq data from Japan bolsters the drug’s addressable market for ankylosing spondylitis and reinforces growth prospects for AbbVie’s immunology franchise. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Management framed the earnings call around “new growth engines” — Skyrizi/Rinvoq and other launches taking the lead in driving growth, which supports the long‑term story but doesn’t eliminate near‑term volatility. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results beat on revenue and showed strong margin/earnings leverage, confirming product momentum even as some segments face headwinds. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Shares initially gapped down after the print as investors focused on a softer-than‑expected Q1 EPS and revenue outlook despite the quarter’s beats — a classic near‑term reaction to guidance misses. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: AbbVie set Q1 2026 EPS guidance at $2.97–$3.01 (vs. ~3.11 consensus) and gave revenue guidance below the street, creating short‑term uncertainty about the cadence of 2026 growth. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Broader coverage highlighted investor “angst” and a bifurcated reaction — bullish on medium‑term fundamentals but worried about near‑term comps and valuation — keeping volatility elevated. Read More.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conning Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 7.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 191,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,458,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 57,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,215,000 after purchasing an additional 10,891 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $720,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in AbbVie by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 853,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,723,000 after acquiring an additional 211,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its position in AbbVie by 9.4% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 113,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,378,000 after purchasing an additional 9,811 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
AbbVie Price Performance
The firm has a 50-day moving average of $223.81 and a 200 day moving average of $219.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.70, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.35.
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 4,184.47% and a net margin of 6.91%.The business had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. AbbVie has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.370-14.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.
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.