Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 477,943 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,599% compared to the typical volume of 17,707 call options.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.84.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged up multiple near‑term and FY2026–FY2027 EPS estimates for AbbVie, a signal that analysts expect stronger earnings momentum into upcoming quarters. Zacks: AbbVie stock dips — key facts
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expanding its oncology pipeline — it kicked off a first‑in‑human ABBV‑711 trial in advanced squamous tumors, which supports long‑term revenue diversification beyond immunology. TipRanks: ABBV starts ABBV‑711 trial
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie continues to advance new categories: completion of first‑in‑human work on an obesity candidate (GUB014295) and other early‑stage programs suggest multiple future growth avenues. TipRanks: obesity pipeline update
• Positive Sentiment: Skyrizi again led full‑year TV ad spending — heavy, sustained marketing should support continued uptake and revenue growth for one of AbbVie’s growth drivers. FiercePharma: Skyrizi top TV ad spender
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie issued a topline release for epcoritamab (DuoBody CD3xCD20) from the Phase‑3 EPCORE DLBCL‑1 trial and said it will engage global regulators to discuss next steps — company statement, not a definitive approval path. PR Newswire: AbbVie topline EPCORE DLBCL‑1
• Negative Sentiment: Several market reports characterize the EPCORE readout as a clinical disappointment on survival endpoints (despite PFS signals), which triggered selling pressure in partner Genmab and put near‑term oncology upside at risk for AbbVie. That mixed/missed survival messaging is the primary reason for today’s share weakness. Seeking Alpha: Genmab down after Epkinly trial data

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $214.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.28. AbbVie has a 52-week low of $164.39 and a 52-week high of $244.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.89 billion, a PE ratio of 162.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.36.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 3,216.47%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. AbbVie has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.320-3.360 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 496.97%.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.