AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) ended the week of Dec. 8–12, 2025 near $223, after a choppy stretch that featured two notable Wall Street moves—an HSBC upgrade and a Morgan Stanley price-target hike—alongside ongoing headlines tied to AbbVie’s oncology and neuroscience pipeline. [1]
For investors, the near-term story remains a familiar one: ABBV’s share price is being pulled between defensive-dividend appeal (especially in an uncertain macro backdrop) and the market’s ongoing debate over how durable AbbVie’s post-Humira growth engine will be—driven mainly by Skyrizi and Rinvoq, plus a deepening pipeline. [2]
ABBV stock this week: Where AbbVie shares finished—and what changed
AbbVie closed Friday, Dec. 12 at $223.32. [3]
Using end-of-week closes, ABBV was down about 1.2% versus the prior Friday (Dec. 5 close: $226.08)—a modest pullback, but enough to keep shares below their early-October highs. [4]
A quick look at the tape highlights the week’s rhythm:
- Monday (Dec. 8): ABBV dropped 1.31% to $223.12, extending a short losing streak to three sessions at that point. [5]
- Midweek bounce: Shares rebounded into Wednesday’s session, closing $225.18 on Dec. 10, before fading again. [6]
- Thursday (Dec. 11): ABBV closed $223.98 after trading as high as $225.96 earlier in the day. [7]
- Friday (Dec. 12): Shares slipped 0.29% to $223.32 in a down tape for major indexes, leaving AbbVie roughly flat-to-lower into the weekend. [8]
Weekly trading range (spotlight): On Friday alone, ABBV traded between $221.10 and $223.82, with volume around 5.4 million shares—in line with “normal” activity for a mega-cap pharma, but still sensitive to analyst notes and macro rate expectations. [9]
The biggest AbbVie stock news in the last few days
1) Morgan Stanley lifted its ABBV price target (Dec. 12)
One of the most current catalysts landed Friday: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on AbbVie to $269 from $261 and maintained an Overweight rating (as reported across analyst-tracking and newswire summaries). [10]
Why it matters: For ABBV, a high-dividend “core holding” in many portfolios, incremental target hikes can still move sentiment—especially when the stock is consolidating rather than trending.
2) HSBC upgraded AbbVie to Buy and boosted its target (Dec. 10)
Earlier in the week, HSBC upgraded AbbVie from Hold to Buy and raised its price target to $265 from $225—a meaningful step-up that helped keep the tone constructive even as the stock drifted. [11]
3) AbbVie adjusted a partnered inflammation program with OSE (Dec. 8)
In deal-related biotech news, AbbVie’s partner OSE Immunotherapeutics said the companies revised their agreement so OSE takes back responsibility for preclinical development and the Phase 1 study of the anti-ChemR23 antibody program now referred to as ABBV-230, while AbbVie retains rights to continue development after Phase 1. [12]
Investor takeaway: This looks more like portfolio fine-tuning than a thesis-breaking event for AbbVie, but it’s a reminder that ABBV actively “prunes and prioritizes” across a broad R&D surface area.
Analyst forecasts for AbbVie: Consensus targets vs. the new upgrades
Across Wall Street, the consensus view remains moderately bullish:
- Consensus rating: Moderate Buy (based on 25 analyst ratings) [13]
- Consensus 12-month price target: about $244.55 (high $289, low $194) [14]
- Versus Friday’s close (~$223), that consensus implies roughly ~9% upside—before dividends. [15]
What’s notable about this week is that the HSBC ($265) and Morgan Stanley ($269) targets sit well above the $244–$245 “middle-of-the-pack” consensus—suggesting some large firms see AbbVie’s 2026 setup as more favorable than the average model currently reflects. [16]
The fundamental engine: Skyrizi and Rinvoq keep doing the heavy lifting
The market’s core ABBV debate still centers on the post-Humira transition—and AbbVie’s latest detailed update remains its third-quarter 2025 report (released Oct. 31, 2025), which showed:
- Q3 net revenues:$15.776 billion, up 9.1% reported [17]
- Immunology portfolio revenue growth driven by:
- Humira:$993M (down 55.4%)—continuing the expected decline after loss of exclusivity [20]
AbbVie also raised its 2025 adjusted EPS guidance to $10.61–$10.65 in that update, reinforcing the message that the company believes it can grow through the transition—despite acquisition-related and IPR&D-related noise in GAAP comparisons. [21]
Pipeline and product momentum: What investors watched in early December
Oncology: ASH 2025 data (Dec. 2)
AbbVie highlighted multiple upcoming and late-breaking presentations at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2025 Congress, spanning both investigational assets and approved therapies. [22]
A few data points that stood out in AbbVie’s own preview:
- In follicular lymphoma, the EPCORE FL-1 Phase 3 trial of epcoritamab + rituximab + lenalidomide (R²) showed a significant PFS improvement, including a reported 79% reduction in the risk of progression or death vs. R² (hazard ratio 0.21, p<.0001). [23]
- In AML, AbbVie cited Phase 1b/2 results for pivekimab sunirine (PVEK) combined with venetoclax and azacitidine in newly diagnosed, CD123-positive patients unfit for intensive chemo, including a reported CR rate of 63.3% in the dataset referenced. [24]
FDA: Epkinly approval in follicular lymphoma (Nov. 18)
AbbVie and partner Genmab received a meaningful regulatory win in late November: on Nov. 18, 2025, the FDA approved epcoritamab-bysp (Epkinly) with lenalidomide and rituximab for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, and also granted traditional approval for Epkinly as monotherapy after two or more prior lines (converting from an accelerated pathway). [25]
This approval provides a real, current example of ABBV’s strategy: build new revenue streams in oncology and immunology while the Humira era fades. [26]
Neuroscience: Atogepant (AQUIPTA) acute migraine data + EMA filing (Dec. 1)
On Dec. 1, AbbVie said Phase 3 ECLIPSE results showed atogepant 60 mg was superior to placebo for pain freedom at two hours after the first treated migraine attack (24.3% vs. 13.1%), and stated it submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency seeking expanded use for the acute treatment of migraine. [27]
Even though migraine is not AbbVie’s biggest revenue driver today, this illustrates how ABBV continues to broaden labels and pursue lifecycle expansion across multiple franchises. [28]
Dividend spotlight: AbbVie’s 2026 raise is now on the calendar
For income-focused investors, AbbVie’s dividend remains a major part of the bull case.
In its Oct. 31 report, AbbVie announced a 5.5% dividend increase, lifting the quarterly dividend from $1.64 to $1.73 per share, beginning with the dividend payable Feb. 17, 2026 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 16, 2026. [29]
At the current share price (~$223), that’s an annualized dividend of $6.92, or roughly ~3.1% forward yield, before any future increases. [30]
Technical + estimate watch: a key “trader narrative” re-emerged this week
A widely circulated technical/estimates note pointed out that AbbVie recently slipped below its 50-day moving average, alongside small downward revisions in consensus earnings estimates over the past 60 days (per the syndicated Zacks commentary). [31]
How to interpret it: For long-term ABBV holders, this is not the main event—but for short-term traders, moving-average behavior can influence positioning around year-end, especially when the macro calendar is crowded.
Week ahead: What to watch for ABBV (Dec. 15–19, 2025)
1) Macro catalysts that can spill into high-dividend pharma
Even though AbbVie is often viewed as “defensive,” ABBV still responds to rate expectations and risk appetite—especially when markets treat dividend stocks like “bond proxies.”
Key U.S. releases scheduled for next week include:
- Retail sales (rescheduled): The Census Bureau notes some retail trade releases were rescheduled to Dec. 16, 2025, following the 2025 lapse in appropriations/government shutdown impacts. [32]
- CPI (November 2025): The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the November 2025 CPI release for Dec. 18, 2025 (8:30 a.m. ET). [33]
Why ABBV investors care: If inflation surprises and shifts rate expectations, the market often reprices dividend-heavy large caps—including pharma.
2) Post-Fed digestion
The Federal Reserve’s Dec. 9–10, 2025 meeting and materials (statement, projections, etc.) were released on Dec. 10, meaning next week can become a “digest-and-reposition” period as investors parse what policy means for 2026. [34]
3) Company-specific watch items (near-term)
There may be no scheduled AbbVie earnings next week, but ABBV traders typically watch:
- Follow-through from analyst actions (HSBC and Morgan Stanley are fresh, and more firms often update year-end outlook notes in mid-to-late December). [35]
- Pipeline headlines (ASH read-through, oncology adoption, and further commentary on Epkinly’s follicular lymphoma launch). [36]
- Dividend positioning into early 2026, given the announced record and payment dates. [37]
Bottom line: AbbVie’s setup into late December
AbbVie stock finishes this week in a familiar place: not far from $223, supported by dividend strength and big-bank upgrades, while the longer-term story continues to hinge on Skyrizi/Rinvoq growth plus the cadence of oncology and neuroscience pipeline wins. [38]
Next week’s action may be less about AbbVie-specific headlines and more about whether macro data (CPI, retail sales) pushes yields and risk appetite in a direction that helps (or hurts) defensive, income-oriented names. [39]
References
1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. news.abbvie.com, 3. finance.yahoo.com, 4. finance.yahoo.com, 5. www.marketwatch.com, 6. finance.yahoo.com, 7. finance.yahoo.com, 8. www.marketwatch.com, 9. finance.yahoo.com, 10. www.marketbeat.com, 11. www.marketbeat.com, 12. www.fiercebiotech.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. news.abbvie.com, 18. news.abbvie.com, 19. news.abbvie.com, 20. news.abbvie.com, 21. news.abbvie.com, 22. news.abbvie.com, 23. news.abbvie.com, 24. news.abbvie.com, 25. www.fda.gov, 26. www.fda.gov, 27. news.abbvie.com, 28. news.abbvie.com, 29. news.abbvie.com, 30. news.abbvie.com, 31. www.nasdaq.com, 32. www.census.gov, 33. www.bls.gov, 34. www.federalreserve.gov, 35. www.marketbeat.com, 36. news.abbvie.com, 37. news.abbvie.com, 38. finance.yahoo.com, 39. www.bls.gov
