New York, January 26, 2026, 12:17 EST — Regular session
Shares of Abbott Laboratories climbed about 1% on Monday after a regulatory filing revealed Chairman and CEO Robert Ford purchased nearly $2 million in company stock. The shares traded up 1% at $108.49 midday, having reached $110.20 earlier. Ford acquired 18,800 shares through the Ford Family Trust at a weighted average price of $107.13, with individual prices between $106.735 and $107.485. He now holds 253,305 shares directly and another 216,203 indirectly via the trust. 1
The insider purchase comes at a sensitive time for Abbott’s investors, who are still weighing whether the recent guidance revision signals a brief hiccup or a sluggish kickoff to 2026. While a CEO buying shares doesn’t alter the financials, it can pull traders’ attention back to a stock driven as much by confidence as by projections.
Form 4 filings, the required disclosures insiders file to report stock trades, often serve as a peek into how top executives value their companies. At times, they’re just noise. Other times, they carry weight.
Abbott’s update last week gave traders plenty to digest. The company posted adjusted Q4 earnings of $1.50 per share on $11.459 billion in sales and forecast adjusted 2026 earnings between $5.55 and $5.80 per share. It also expects organic sales growth of 6.5% to 7.5%, stripping out currency effects and one-offs. Nutrition sales dropped 8.9% in the quarter, with diagnostics down 2.5%, while medical devices climbed 12.3%. Ford said Abbott is “well positioned for accelerating growth in 2026,” and the firm anticipates closing the Exact Sciences deal in Q2. 2
Abbott outperformed the wider health-care sector. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund gained roughly 0.2%, with Medtronic climbing about 0.6% and Johnson & Johnson edging up around 0.3%.
A CEO purchase doesn’t equal an earnings upgrade. If nutrition volumes lag or pricing and mix pressure the business longer than anticipated, Monday’s boost could quickly vanish.
Diagnostics faces slim chances for a new setback, with pandemic-driven testing demand having declined for years. Meanwhile, competitors continue to push hard in booming medtech areas such as diabetes sensors and heart-rhythm devices.
Investors will keep an eye on product updates tied to key medical events this week, notably the Society of Thoracic Surgeons conference in New Orleans. Abbott has this event marked on its 2026 calendar, beginning January 29. 3
