Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (ABBV) has lowered its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings outlook. The downward revision is primarily due to expenses of about $1.6 billion incurred from several acquisitions made in 2024. These one-time charges are likely to negatively impact adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by $0.88 in the fourth quarter.
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As a result of this one-time expense, ABBV expects to report adjusted EPS in the range of $10.02 to $10.06 for 2024, compared to the prior projection of $10.90 to $10.94. Also, the company now anticipates that its fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS will lie between $2.06 and $2.10, down from the previous expectations of $2.94 to $2.98.
Investors should note that AbbVie is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results on January 31.
AbbVie Bolsters Portfolio with Strategic Acquisitions
AbbVie actively expanded its portfolio in 2024 with the help of strategic acquisitions. The company acquired Cerevel Therapeutics, a neuroscience drug maker; ImmunoGen, a cancer drug developer; and Aliada Therapeutics, an Alzheimer’s therapy developer.
These deals had a combined value of more than $20 billion. These acquisitions aimed to bolster the company’s growth, particularly after the loss of patent protection for its blockbuster arthritis drug, Humira.
Is ABBV Stock a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, ABBV has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 13 Buys and six Holds assigned in the last three months. At $202.75, the average AbbVie price target implies a 12.58% upside potential. Over the past six months, ABBV has surged by more than 10%.
