AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Purchased by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5,195.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 411,856 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $95,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after buying an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $5,865,055,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in AbbVie by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,499,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,084,467,000 after buying an additional 1,197,432 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in AbbVie by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,133,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,772,345,000 after buying an additional 129,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.5%

ABBV opened at $224.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $397.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.74, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.73 and a 52-week high of $244.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Evercore set a $235.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.43.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s ovarian cancer drug Elahere received a green light from the UK’s NHS, expanding access in a hard-to-treat cancer market and reinforcing the drug’s commercial potential. British drug-cost watchdog recommends use of AbbVie’s ovarian cancer therapy
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie also won European approval for Aquipta as a migraine treatment, adding another approved indication and supporting future sales growth for its neurology franchise. AbbVie receives EC approval for Aquipta to treat migraine
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-style coverage highlighted AbbVie as a “cheap stock” and a potentially undervalued name, which can support investor sentiment around the stock’s longer-term upside. 5 Best Cheap Stocks to Buy for Beginners
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie completed several study updates, including a real-world upadacitinib study in China and a bioavailability study for ABBV-932, which are supportive for the pipeline but not immediate commercial catalysts. AbbVie Completes Real World Upadacitinib Study in China AbbVie Advances ABBV-932 With Completed Bioavailability Study
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie ended an early lung-cancer trial for ABBV-647, which slightly trims one oncology upside avenue, even though it does not change the broader growth story. AbbVie Ends Early Lung Cancer Trial for ABBV-647

AbbVie 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.