If You Wanted To Buy AbbVie and Didn’t, There’s Still Time To Buy

Key Points

• AbbVie is a buy-and-hold stock firing on all cylinders as management's diversification efforts create business momentum.
• The Q1 release and guidance update were better than expected, leading to improved market sentiment. 
• Analysts trends suggest this stock will set news this year. 

If you have been or are thinking about getting into AbbVie NYSE: ABBV, there is still time to do so. The AbbVie stock price is in a sustained uptrend and will set new all-time highs repeatedly over time. The reason why is simple: This is an incredibly well-run company with foresightful management that has positioned it for success.

Once reliant on Humira for revenue, margin, and profits, it is now a well-diversified pharmaceutical company with a quiver filled with blockbuster hits. The critical takeaway is that it, like its parent, Abbott Laboratories, is a healthy capital-returning machine on track to pay substantial dividends while buying back shares and maintaining a fortress position. 

AbbVie Fires Trend-Following Signal Following Q1 Release and Guidance Update

The AbbVie price action corrected to a long-term trend line in early 2025 and fired a trend-following signal following the FQ1 release. The company’s results prove its success and outlook, with revenue up 8.4%, outpacing MarketBeat’s reported consensus by more than 300 basis points. Strength was seen in most segments, led by a 16.6% increase in Immunology. 

Immunology is the core segment and includes Humira sales, which fell 50% compared to last year. However, the weakness in Humira was offset by the strength in the new top-selling drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which grew by 72% and 57.2%, respectively.

They accounted for 38% of the net and are expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future.  Neuroscience was also strong with a 16.1% increase, followed by a 5.8% gain in Oncology and an 11.7% decline in Aesthetics.

The company experienced margin pressure, primarily in the form of unfavorable IPR&D expenses. The silver lining is that increased IPR&D is tied to positive pipeline developments that help secure the company’s long-term growth. Regardless, the impact was less than expected, leaving the adjusted EPS at $2.46, up 6.5% year-over-year (YOY), and $0.06 better than the forecast.

More importantly, the guidance was improved, aligning the adjusted EPS target range with analysts' expectations for a 20% year-over-year increase. 

Analysts' Trends Are Pushing AbbVie’s Market Toward All-Time Highs

As bearish as the 2025 stock price correction appears, the analysts' trends contradict it. Those include significantly increased coverage since last year, firming sentiment with a high conviction in the Moderate Buy rating, and an increased consensus price target. 

The consensus in late April 2025 is up nearly 20% year over year, with many H1 revisions leading into the high-end range. Those trends are not expected to change and may gain momentum following the guidance update. 

Analysts and institutions like this stock for the capital return. The company is expected to pay 3% of its earnings in 2025 and to grow the distribution annually. AbbVie is a technical Dividend Aristocrat and King due to its sustainable 5-year relationship with Abbott and is on track to continue increasing the distribution annually for many years. AbbVie also repurchases stock, but only enough to offset dilution from share-based compensation.

AbbVie Fired a Trend Following Signal in April

AbbVie’s stock price correction hit bottom in early April and confirmed its uptrend soon after. The price action following the Q1 release aligns with the signal, rising by 3.5% in premarket action. The market could easily rise to retest its all-time high before mid-year in this scenario, assuming it follows through on the signal. If not, AbbVie's stock price could remain range-bound until later in the year, with a potential for topping in the $200 to $220 range.