Marietta Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,364 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 1.5% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in AbbVie by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 160.4% during the fourth quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.43.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The UK drug-cost watchdog recommended AbbVie’s ovarian cancer therapy Elahere for patients with a hard-to-treat form of ovarian cancer, boosting the drug’s commercial prospects in a key market. British drug-cost watchdog recommends use of AbbVie’s ovarian cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie won EU approval for AQUIPTA (atogepant) as an acute treatment for migraine in adults, adding a second approved migraine indication and expanding the drug’s revenue opportunity. AbbVie Gets EU Nod for Aquipta as Acute Treatment for Migraine
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission also authorized an expanded label for VENCLYXTO, which could broaden use in combination therapies and support oncology sales. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Announces EC Authorization of Expanded Label for VENCLYXTO®
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s update on a Japan safety study for RINVOQ drew attention to ongoing development and post-market monitoring, though the details appear to be part of routine clinical follow-up rather than a major catalyst. AbbVie’s RINVOQ Safety Study In Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also said it will present at the Goldman Sachs healthcare conference next week, which usually keeps investors focused on management commentary but is not a direct business update. AbbVie to Present at the Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $217.24 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $181.73 and a one year high of $244.81. The stock has a market cap of $383.82 billion, a PE ratio of 107.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.35.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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.