Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $239.00 to $241.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 38.67% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $173.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.47 and a 200 day moving average of $188.60. The firm has a market cap of $307.44 billion, a PE ratio of 72.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.