Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $135.00 to $115.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.69% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $96.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $139.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $107.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. 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. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.