AbbVie Receives "Moderate Buy" Consensus Amid Clinical Progress and Insider Trading
AbbVie has received a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating from analysts with an average price target of $253.15. The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.71 EPS and $16.62 billion revenue, beating estimates. Recent clinical progress includes positive Phase 1 results for an obesity drug candidate showing 7.8-9.8% weight loss.
AbbVie Inc. has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-two ratings firms covering the company, with nine analysts issuing hold recommendations, eleven assigning buy recommendations, and two issuing strong buy recommendations. The average one-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage in the last year is $251.00, while according to MarketBeat data, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.15.
Shares of AbbVie fell 1% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. Specifically, a senior vice president sold 5,230 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th, with the shares sold at an average price of $233.56 for a total transaction of $1,221,518.80. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.
Several analysts have recently issued reports on AbbVie shares. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $265.00. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $275.00 price objective on AbbVie. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $258.00 target price. Scotiabank initiated coverage with a "sector outperform" rating and a $280.00 target price.
The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter ending February 4th, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.06. AbbVie had revenue of $16.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.39 billion. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. AbbVie has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.370-14.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.010 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Recent clinical developments include positive Phase 1 topline results for ABBV‑295, a long‑acting amylin analog, which showed clinically meaningful weight loss of approximately 7.8% to 9.8% at approximately 12 weeks with a favorable tolerability profile, supporting continued development and adding a non‑incretin obesity program that could diversify AbbVie's growth drivers. Positive Phase 3 AFFIRM results for risankizumab (SKYRIZI) in Crohn's disease support label expansion and incremental revenue opportunity for AbbVie's immunology franchise.
The firm has a market capitalization of approximately $409.28 billion, with a P/E ratio of 98.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $223.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.07. AbbVie has a 12-month low of $164.39 and a 12-month high of $244.81.
Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock. Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions, with multiple firms purchasing new stakes in AbbVie during recent quarters valued between $26,000 and $29,000.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, representing a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 293.22%.