Shares of the pharmaceutical company AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) closed over 5.3% lower on Thursday, April 4, after the company trimmed its Q1 and 2024 earnings per share (EPS) outlook. AbbVie has lowered its Q1 guidance for the second time.
AbbVie expects its Q1 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $2.18 – $2.22, down from its previous guidance of $2.26 to $2.30. This includes a negative impact of $0.08 per share due to the acquired in-process research and development (IPR&D) expenses. Notably, in February 2024, ABBV reduced its first-quarter guidance by $0.04 per share, citing the dilutive impact of the ImmunoGen deal. ABBV acquired ImmunoGen, a biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics, in February.
As for the full year, AbbVie expects to report EPS in the range of $10.97 – $11.17, down from its previous forecast of $11.05 – $11.25. ABBV expects the ImmunoGen acquisition to have a dilutive impact of $0.42 per share on its 2024 earnings.
Is ABBV a Good Stock to Buy Now?
ABBV stock has gained about 9.4% in one year, underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s (SPX) gain of 27.4%. This underperformance reflects increased competition from biosimilar products for its popular arthritis drug, Humira. Nonetheless, improved revenues from Skyrizi (a drug to treat psoriasis) and Rinvoq (a drug for treating arthritis) are encouraging.
ABBV stock sports a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 12 Buy and five Hold recommendations. Analysts’ average ABBV stock price target of $180.80 implies 7.68% upside potential.
