Wall Street Raises AbbVie (ABBV) Stock Targets to $260 But There’s a Catch

TLDR

• AbbVie’s average brokerage recommendation sits at 1.61 (between Strong Buy and Buy), based on 32 firms, with 21 Strong Buy ratings
• Both Citi and UBS raised their price targets on ABBV to $260, up from $230
• Despite the raised targets, both firms maintain a Neutral rating on the stock
• Zacks has ABBV at a Rank #4 (Sell), with the consensus EPS estimate for the current year down 0.6% to $14.23
• GuruFocus flags ABBV as ~16.4% overvalued, with a P/E of 121.77x versus a 5-year median of 47.36x

AbbVie (ABBV) is getting attention from Wall Street this week, with two major banks lifting their price targets — but neither is telling investors to buy.

AbbVie Inc., ABBV

ABBV was trading around $247.19 as of the latest data, and both Citi and UBS set their new targets at $260, up from $230. That’s a 13% bump in expected value. But both firms held their Neutral ratings, meaning they’re not exactly banging the drum.

Citi analyst Geoff Meacham made the move as part of a broader Q2 earnings preview for the biopharma group. The firm said it expects “largely robust” Q2 results from the large-cap names it covers. UBS analyst Michael Yee echoed the cautious optimism — higher target, same neutral stance.

The mixed signals don’t stop there.

AbbVie’s average brokerage recommendation (ABR) across 32 firms comes in at 1.61 — technically between Strong Buy and Buy.

Of those 32 recommendations, 21 are Strong Buy and two are Buy. On paper, that looks bullish.

But Zacks tells a different story.

Zacks Slaps a Sell Rating on ABBV

The Zacks Rank for AbbVie is currently #4 (Sell). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year EPS has dropped 0.6% over the past month, now sitting at $14.23. Analysts have been nudging their earnings estimates lower, which is the kind of trend Zacks weighs heavily.

Zacks points out that brokerage recommendations — while widely followed — often carry a positive bias due to the commercial relationships firms have with the companies they cover. Their data shows analysts issue roughly five Strong Buy ratings for every Strong Sell. So that ABR of 1.61 may not be the slam dunk it looks like.

The valuation picture adds another wrinkle. GuruFocus puts AbbVie’s GF Value at $212.31, which puts the current price roughly 16.4% above what they consider fair value. The stock’s trailing P/E sits at 121.77x — more than double its five-year median of 47.36x.

GF Score and Insider Activity

GuruFocus gives ABBV a GF Score of 81 out of 100, which reflects solid overall performance. Profitability scores an 8/10 and growth a 7/10. Financial strength, though, comes in at just 4/10 — something worth keeping an eye on.

On the insider front, there’s been no buying or selling reported in the past three months. Insiders are sitting tight.

AbbVie is set to report Q2 earnings soon, and Citi’s preview suggests the print could be solid. The stock is up about 1% on the day.

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