AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 1.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 1.8% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $296.00 to $310.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $274.94 and last traded at $271.3650. 5,352,381 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 6,430,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.69.

ABBV has been the subject of several other research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $244.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,607,500. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab reported that epcoritamab combined with R-CHOP reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 51% versus R-CHOP alone in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-2 trial met its progression-free-survival goal, potentially positioning Epkinly as a frontline treatment competitor to Roche’s Polivy and expanding the drug’s commercial opportunity. AbbVie and Genmab DLBCL trial results
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted two Breakthrough Therapy Designations to telisotuzumab adizutecan (Temab-A or ABBV-400) for colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The designations could accelerate development and regulatory interaction for AbbVie’s next-generation antibody-drug conjugate and add support to its broader oncology pipeline. AbbVie Temab-A FDA designations
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its AbbVie price target from $280 to $320 and maintained a “sector outperform” rating, citing a bullish outlook for the company’s pipeline and growth prospects. Scotiabank raises AbbVie price target
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie is scheduled to report third-quarter results later this month, making upcoming revenue, immunology performance and updated guidance important near-term catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie lowered its third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance to $3.73–$3.77, below the roughly $3.85 analyst consensus, after recording $216 million in acquired in-process research and development and milestone expenses. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance was also reduced by $0.11 at the midpoint. AbbVie updates 2026 earnings guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary highlighting a payout ratio above 190% raises questions about dividend coverage, although reported earnings can be distorted by accounting and acquisition-related items. AbbVie dividend payout concerns

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,017 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in AbbVie by 11.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 447,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,516,000 after purchasing an additional 45,132 shares during the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth $23,557,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in AbbVie by 7.5% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 134,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in AbbVie by 119.1% in the second quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 69,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,376,000 after purchasing an additional 37,531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $479.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.42.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.04. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 422.07% and a net margin of 9.80%.The business had revenue of $16.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. AbbVie has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.840-3.880 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.05 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 195.48%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of serious and chronic health conditions. Its portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, aesthetics, gastroenterology and women’s health.

The company’s products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq; neuroscience treatments such as Vraylar, Ubrelvy and Qulipta; and oncology medicines including Imbruvica and Venclexta. AbbVie also markets Botox Cosmetic and Botox Therapeutic, as well as other products for aesthetics, eye care and specialty care.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as an independent, publicly traded company following its separation from Abbott Laboratories.