AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $295.40 and last traded at $294.1520. 8,407,818 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 6,347,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $286.00.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie licensed global rights to Nxera Pharma’s experimental oral IBD candidate, NXE0033744. The agreement includes $100 million upfront and up to $1.37 billion in development and commercial milestones, plus royalties. The drug could add a new treatment option and diversify AbbVie’s growth pipeline, although it remains investigational. Nxera Pharma licensing announcement
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is investing more than £120 million to expand its Oxford R&D facility, supporting research in immunology, neurology and oncology. This is a longer-term investment in research capacity. Reuters article on Oxford R&D expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages, including Morgan Stanley, raised their price targets, signaling improved analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley price-target article
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated 2026 guidance projects EPS of $13.95–$13.99, broadly in line with consensus, and revenue of $67.8 billion, slightly above expectations. Fourth-quarter revenue guidance is also a little ahead of consensus, but its EPS range is below analysts’ estimate.
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie discontinued a Phase 2 solid-tumor drug program after seeing “limited benefit,” a setback for its oncology pipeline. Fierce Biotech article on the discontinued drug
• Negative Sentiment: One recent analysis cautioned that AbbVie’s valuation may be stretched after its rally, potentially limiting further upside if growth expectations are not met. Analysis of AbbVie’s valuation and outlook

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $288.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on AbbVie from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on AbbVie from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $218.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $519.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $270.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 435.41% and a net margin of 15.67%. The business had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.00 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a $1.82 dividend. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,607,500. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in AbbVie by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,596,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,784,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,232 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $559,736,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,267,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,590,323,000 after buying an additional 106,091 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,905,952,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 13.0% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,772,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,905,000 after buying an additional 1,241,587 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV) is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines and other healthcare products. Its portfolio focuses on immunology, oncology, neuroscience, aesthetics and eye care, serving patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.

The company’s key products include immunology medicines such as Skyrizi and Rinvoq; neuroscience treatments including Vraylar, Ubrelvy and Qulipta; and oncology products such as Imbruvica and Venclexta.