Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Bank of America from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 23.85% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ABT. Freedom Capital raised Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Evercore decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $96.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $168.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.89 and a 200 day moving average of $118.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The company 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 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.Abbott Laboratories’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $30,397.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,573 shares in the company, valued at $4,458,267.34. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,526,575.12. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Preliminary settlement reached in six shareholder derivative suits tied to Abbott’s U.S. infant‑formula business, reducing litigation overhang for investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New data on Cancerguard MCED (multi‑cancer early detection) presented at AACR 2026 — important for Abbott’s growth thesis since the Exact Sciences deal expanded its oncology diagnostics exposure. Continued clinical progress supports longer‑term revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Insiders added roughly $3.1M of stock, and a number of analysts still see upside — some calling the post‑acquisition pullback a buying opportunity given valuation and Abbott’s dividend track record. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results: adjusted EPS $1.15 (vs. $1.14 est.) and revenue $11.16B (vs. $10.99B); company set FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.38–$5.58 and Q2 guide to $1.25–$1.31, explicitly including ~$0.20 of dilution from the Exact Sciences acquisition. Investors are parsing beat vs. the guidance change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and analyst commentary emphasize medical‑device strength offset by Diagnostics/Nutrition softness and acquisition-related margin pressure — useful for active traders but mixed for near‑term stock direction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after the print because Abbott trimmed guidance and flagged Nutrition weakness and margin compression; coverage shows the takeover (≈$21–23B) is dilutive near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Many brokers lowered price targets and some cut forecasts following Q1/guidance — several firms kept positive ratings but reduced targets (examples include RBC, Jefferies, Raymond James, Citi and others), amplifying short‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst notes and headlines highlighted the EPS guidance cut and Nutrition slump as primary reasons for the earlier drop — these remain catalysts to watch for the next quarter. Read More.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.