Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Robert W. Baird

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ABT. Citigroup cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.42.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:ABT opened at $95.25 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $81.97 and a 12 month high of $137.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.88 and its 200 day moving average is $104.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.61.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,926,279,000 after purchasing an additional 39,005,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,938,892,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,868,718,000 after buying an additional 4,713,135 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 217.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,522,222 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $566,967,000 after buying an additional 3,780,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 303.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,429,571 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $454,784,000 after buying an additional 3,330,368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Abbott with an “outperform” rating and a $121 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Baird’s bullish view follows a broader positive analyst backdrop, with another report highlighting Abbott among Wednesday’s notable Wall Street research calls. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also benefited from news that Tandem Diabetes Care launched compatibility for its t:slim X2 insulin pump with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor in five international markets, which may support adoption of Abbott’s diabetes device ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott cleared a major legal risk after the DOJ ended its criminal formula probe, removing a potential overhang that had weighed on the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent coverage compares Abbott with Intuitive Surgical as a healthcare investment idea, but this is more commentary than a direct catalyst for the shares. Article Title

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.