AbbVie Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 108,604 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 552% compared to the average daily volume of 16,650 call options.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $229.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $216.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.12. AbbVie has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $244.81. The company has a market cap of $404.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.14, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.90.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,235,000 after acquiring an additional 9,395 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 536,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,398,000 after acquiring an additional 25,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.