Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $145.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.85% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $96.89 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $139.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business’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 $67,614.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the business’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 value of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories News Roundup

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.