AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1% – Time to Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.92 and last traded at $176.54. Approximately 832,548 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 5,786,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.00.

AbbVie Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $324.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $176.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 100 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.