AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Erste Group Bank

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $212.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $374.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.42, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.48. AbbVie has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.