Is AbbVie Stock a Buy?

PUBLISHED Jul 2, 2024, 1:50:42 PM        SHARE

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imgNoah Brody

Is AbbVie Stock a Buy?

About AbbVie Inc.

AbbVie Inc. is an American pharmaceutical company based in North Chicago, Illinois. They specialize in the research and development of drugs, most notably Humira. Humira is an injection that helps treat and reduce the symptoms of different forms of arthritis.

Having started their business only in 2012, the growth of AbbVie into one of the largest biomedical companies in the world has been impressive. They were originally a component of Abbott Laboratories, but separated their research-based pharmaceuticals only in 2013. Since the split on January 1st, 2013, AbbVie has grown to surpass Abbott Laboratories in terms of market cap, and appear to be continuing their rapid growth.

AbbVie has experienced nearly uninterrupted growth of their stock price since they first went public in 2013. They did stagger slightly in 2019-2021 due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but continued to grow. This comes even after an FDA warning in September 2021, which did little to slow the increase in stock price.

Over the past full year, AbbVie has increased to its current trading price of 172.13. This is an increase of nearly 25% over the past year. This impressive growth is accompanied by a strong history increasing their dividend. They have increased their dividend every year since 2013. Currently, their annual dividend yield is 3.6% with quarterly dividends of $1.55. All these factors combine to indicate that AbbVie has earned its place among the largest biomedical companies in the world.

AbbVie Returning to Growth

As I mentioned previously, from 2019-2021, there were a few obstacles that hindered the growth of their stock price. In 2019, AbbVie acquired Allergan PLC, an acquisition that cost $63 billion, and caused stock prices to drop as much as 15% in the short term. This was not the only issue, with the aforementioned warning from the FDA slowing sales and causing another 8% drop to the stock price.

Following these setbacks, AbbVie has grown tremendously. Over the past 5 years, AbbVie has increased by over 118%. Recent developments and new drugs look to be a positive indicator for both short and long-term growth. The increase in sales of their drug Skyrizi and increased Botox sales indicate that there will be short term improvements, while an upcoming drug due to be released in 2027 could further increase the stock price if it makes it to market.

Revenue has been a major strength for AbbVie, increasing every year until 2023. This year saw a decrease in sales of Humira, though not as much as forecasted, so stock prices continued to rise.

AbbVie Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

As I mentioned in a previous article, the S&P Health Care Index offered 12.6% returns last year. This is one of the highest performing market sectors, falling only behind consumer discretionary and technology stocks. In the last year, AbbVie has increased by nearly 25%, far surpassing an already strong sector.

This performance is very impressive, and is in spite of a less than stellar intrinsic value based on free-cash-flow. The formula I have used in previous articles from GuruFocus has placed an intrinsic value of $114.90 on AbbVie, which is below the current price of $172.13. This is still a better price-to-projected-FCF than 52% of the drug manufacturing sector. This indicates the stock is slightly overvalued, but is not out of line in the sector.

Q1 earnings for AbbVie were generally positive, exceeding last year’s revenue by nearly 1%. Several of their drugs such as Rinvoq and Skyrizi have also increased into larger markets, giving potential for greater revenue growth in the last half of the year.

Is AbbVie Stock Worth Buying?

AbbVie has shown no signs of slowing down, and with more innovations on the horizon, and a credible history of increased dividends, I believe AbbVie should absolutely be considered a buy. Projections for revenue growth also appear favorable for AbbVie, though not at rates seen in previous years. Q1 earnings were up 0.7% compared to 2023. Global expansion of Skyrizi is projected to add up to $1 billion in incremental sales growth this year, and the oncology surpassing their expectations as well.

This is further bolstered by the performance of the sector as a whole. In an industry that is already one of the top performing, AbbVie is exceeding even an already impressive sector. The nearly 25% return over the past full year cements AbbVie as one of the strongest stocks to consider in the industry.

Given all the above, I would consider AbbVie a buy, and one of the stronger buys in the sector. During their earnings call, CEO Rick Gonzalez pointed out that since their beginning, AbbVie has increased annual revenue from $18 billion in 2023 to over $55 billion now. He also pointed out the total shareholder return of 675%, top tier in the sector and among their competitors. All this combines to make AbbVie Inc. one of the strongest options in the healthcare sector for investors.



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