New York, January 28, 2026, 14:06 EST — Regular session
Abbott Laboratories shares slipped roughly 2% to $106.12 in afternoon trading Wednesday, hitting a low of $105.90. The drop came after a new price-target downgrade added to the pressure on the medical products company, coming off last week’s earnings reset.
Abbott’s slide is notable since the stock was long seen as a stable “defensive” pick within healthcare. Now, it’s behaving more like a firm that needs to validate its short-term growth prospects. Adding to the pressure, the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later today is weighing on risk appetite, even in large-cap healthcare names.
On Tuesday, Argus lowered its price target for Abbott to $140 from $150. For context, a price target reflects where analysts expect a stock to trade within the next year.
A regulatory filing revealed a contrasting signal. Abbott CEO Robert Ford bought 18,800 shares via the Ford Family Trust on Jan. 23, paying a weighted average price of $107.1259. The trades went through at prices between $106.735 and $107.485, according to a Form 4.
Abbott slipped amid a pullback in the broader healthcare sector. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF dropped roughly 0.9%. Johnson & Johnson climbed about 1.1%, Medtronic held steady, and Boston Scientific edged up slightly.
The stock has slid after Abbott warned its current-quarter profit would miss estimates, following a revenue shortfall weighed down by its nutrition and diagnostics units. Ford pointed to rising manufacturing costs pushing prices up, which “suppressed demand” as consumers tightened their belts. He also flagged that nutrition growth would face headwinds for “a couple quarters.” Reuters
That said, the setup could still falter. If nutrition volumes remain weak longer than anticipated, or if pricing steers customers toward cheaper options, the post-earnings selloff might not be over yet.
The next key moment arrives at 2 p.m. EST, when the Fed announces its policy decision, with Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference set for 30 minutes afterward. Investors will be watching closely for hints on the duration of the rate cut pause—and if that will swing interest toward or away from defensive healthcare stocks.
