As of Sunday, December 21, 2025, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) heads into a holiday-shortened trading week with shares hovering near the mid-$220s, after a high-volume rebound into Friday’s close. The setup for the week ahead is defined by two competing forces: strong underlying fundamentals (Skyrizi/Rinvoq momentum, updated 2025 outlook, and a higher dividend) and a renewed policy overhang as Washington accelerates its latest push to align U.S. drug prices with lower international benchmarks.
Below is a practical, week-ahead roadmap of the latest news, forecasts, and market analysis investors are weighing right now.
ABBV stock snapshot entering the week
AbbVie shares last closed at $226.82 (Friday, Dec. 19), up 1.80%, and notably outpaced several large-cap pharma peers on the day. What stood out most wasn’t just the move—it was the volume spike: roughly 18.6 million shares, far above the stock’s recent average, signaling unusually heavy positioning ahead of year-end and policy headlines. [1]
That price also places ABBV about 7% below its recent 52-week high of $244.81 (set earlier this year), keeping the stock in a zone where investors can argue both “momentum still intact” and “upside capped until policy clears.” [2]
The headline risk investors can’t ignore: MFN drug-pricing deals—AbbVie not on the list
The biggest macro-development affecting U.S. pharma sentiment right now is President Trump’s most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing initiative, which aims to pull certain U.S. drug prices closer to the lowest prices paid in other developed countries.
On December 19, 2025, the White House announced nine new agreements with drug manufacturers tied to MFN pricing and related requirements (including Medicaid access, direct-to-consumer “TrumpRx” discounts, and commitments to invest in U.S. manufacturing). The list included: Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech (Roche’s U.S. unit), Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. [3]
Notably, AbbVie was not named among those nine manufacturers in the Dec. 19 announcement. [4]
Why that matters for ABBV in the week ahead:
- Policy risk didn’t disappear—it became more selective and more “deal-driven.”
- AbbVie specifically had been cited earlier in the week as being near a potential agreement with the administration, according to sources. [5]
- Because ABBV wasn’t included in the Dec. 19 list, investors may treat AbbVie as a “still pending” policy story rather than a “cleared” one—keeping a lid on sentiment even as fundamentals remain strong. [6]
For the coming week, any follow-on headlines—additional agreements, clarifications on which products are impacted, or how pricing mechanics will be implemented—can drive sector-wide moves, including in AbbVie, even without company-specific news.
Fundamentals: the post-Humira transition is increasingly a Skyrizi + Rinvoq story
While policy headlines dominate the news cycle, AbbVie’s core investment debate remains the same: can the company keep growing after Humira’s loss of exclusivity? In 2025, management has been telling markets “yes,” and the numbers have supported the case.
From AbbVie’s Q3 2025 results (reported Oct. 31, 2025):
- Total net revenues:$15.776B (+9.1% YoY)
- Adjusted EPS:$1.86
- Skyrizi Q3 net revenues:$4.708B (+46.8% YoY)
- Rinvoq Q3 net revenues:$2.184B (+35.3% YoY) [7]
Management also raised full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance to $10.61–$10.65 in that release. [8]
Independent coverage of the same earnings cycle emphasized that AbbVie lifted its full-year 2025 revenue outlook to $60.9B, reflecting confidence in growth traction, with management discussing a longer runway supported by its portfolio and pipeline. [9]
A key durability point: Rinvoq exclusivity through 2037
One of the most important “long-horizon” developments for AbbVie is the durability of Rinvoq’s franchise. In September 2025, AbbVie said it expected no generic competition for Rinvoq until 2037, with Reuters reporting that a settlement was expected to prevent generic erosion until April 2037 (subject to provisions). [10]
That matters because Rinvoq is one of AbbVie’s primary engines for offsetting Humira’s decline—and patent visibility often influences how aggressively analysts model cash flows and price targets.
Dividend outlook: AbbVie raised the payout again—here’s what to watch next
AbbVie remains a high-profile name among dividend-focused investors, and it reinforced that narrative in Q3.
In its Q3 release, AbbVie announced a 5.5% dividend increase, raising the quarterly dividend from $1.64 to $1.73 per share, with the dividend payable February 17, 2026 to shareholders of record as of January 16, 2026. [11]
Market calendars also flag Jan. 16, 2026 as the ex-dividend date for the $1.73 payout. [12]
For the coming week (Dec. 22–26), the dividend isn’t an immediate catalyst (the ex-date is in January), but it often supports ABBV during weaker tape conditions because income-oriented buyers may use dips to build positions ahead of the next record date.
Wall Street forecasts: price targets remain above the market after December upgrades
Analyst sentiment on ABBV has stayed constructive into late 2025, with the Street generally framing AbbVie as a large-cap pharma compounder—but with a policy-risk discount.
Here’s what the most recent “consensus-style” data points say:
- MarketBeat’s compiled view shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target around the mid-$240s. [13]
- Investing.com’s snapshot similarly places consensus targets above the current price, with a wide target range that can stretch from the high $100s into the high $200s, depending on the firm. [14]
Recent analyst actions investors are citing
Several firm-level updates in December have helped keep the narrative constructive:
- Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $269 from $261 and maintained Overweight, explicitly arguing that many biopharma “policy overhangs” could wane in 2026, bringing attention back to fundamentals. [15]
- HSBC upgraded AbbVie to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $265 from $225 (as reported in analyst-coverage writeups). [16]
- Guggenheim raised its price target to $242 from $227 and kept a Buy rating ahead of Q3 earnings, according to analyst-rating coverage. [17]
Week-ahead implication: After a high-volume Friday, ABBV enters a low-liquidity holiday week with analysts broadly “above-market” on targets—often a setup where price action becomes more sensitive to headlines than to fundamentals.
Technical setup for the week ahead: the levels traders are watching
In a holiday week, technical levels can matter more because fewer sessions and thinner liquidity can exaggerate moves.
Recent price data show ABBV traded (Dec. 19 session):
- High: ~$229.47
- Low: ~$222.35
- Close: $226.82
- Volume: ~18.97M [18]
That naturally frames two near-term zones:
- Support zone: roughly $222–$223 (recent lows and a spot where buyers stepped in) [19]
- Resistance zone: roughly $229–$230 (recent highs and a psychologically important round level) [20]
Options positioning into Friday (Dec. 26 expiry week)
With the week ending on Dec. 26, near-dated options can influence “pinning” behavior around round strikes. Options chains show active interest at strikes around $230 for the Dec. 26, 2025 expiration. [21]
Separate options-flow commentary has also suggested traders are expressing bullish structures targeting moves into the $230–$240 area over coming weeks (not a guarantee—just one window into positioning). [22]
Week-ahead calendar: shortened trading week and key market events
U.S. market hours this week
This is not a normal five-day week for U.S. equities:
- Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025: U.S. markets close early at 1:00 p.m. ET [23]
- Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025: U.S. markets closed for Christmas [24]
- Friday, Dec. 26, 2025: markets expected to run a full regular session, and major exchanges have indicated they will remain open as scheduled. [25]
Translation for ABBV: you effectively get 3.5 sessions (Mon/Tue/full, Wed/half-day, Fri/full). That tends to reduce conviction moves—unless a headline hits.
Macro events that can spill into healthcare sentiment
For the broader tape, traders are watching standard late-December releases, including items like GDP updates, consumer confidence, and jobless claims. [26]
AbbVie-specific scheduled catalysts
There is no AbbVie earnings report on the calendar for this coming week. Market calendars currently estimate AbbVie’s next earnings window for late January 2026 (commonly shown around Jan. 30, 2026 on earnings-date trackers). [27]
So, for Dec. 22–26, ABBV is more likely to trade on:
- drug-pricing policy headlines (MFN/Medicaid/TrumpRx developments)
- sector rotation and year-end positioning
- thin liquidity effects around key price levels [28]
Key risks and debate points to keep in mind
Even with strong immunology momentum, AbbVie is not a “set it and forget it” stock. The debate going into 2026 still includes:
- U.S. pricing pressure: MFN-style frameworks, direct-to-consumer discount models, and broader government involvement can compress the sector’s valuation multiple and alter price realization assumptions. [29]
- Execution across segments: AbbVie has openly discussed unevenness in areas like aesthetics amid macro pressure, while immunology remains the standout. [30]
- Pipeline and business development noise: AbbVie has flagged large IPR&D-related charges at points in 2025, showing how external innovation and deal activity can create earnings “lumps,” even when underlying demand is strong. [31]
Bottom line: what ABBV investors should watch this week
AbbVie enters the week of Dec. 22–26, 2025 with a constructive technical posture near $227, a fresh high-volume finish to last week, and supportive sell-side positioning (multiple large-bank targets well above the market). [32]
But the near-term driver is unlikely to be “another fundamentals beat” (earnings are weeks away). Instead, ABBV’s week-ahead direction likely hinges on whether the market sees drug-pricing policy as:
- a clearing event (deals are contained and predictable), or
- a rolling overhang (more manufacturers pulled in, broader scope, more margin uncertainty). [33]
For traders, the practical battleground is $222–$223 support vs. $229–$230 resistance in a thin, headline-sensitive holiday tape. [34]
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.marketwatch.com, 3. www.whitehouse.gov, 4. www.whitehouse.gov, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.prnewswire.com, 8. www.prnewswire.com, 9. www.investing.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.prnewswire.com, 12. finance.yahoo.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.tipranks.com, 16. www.investing.com, 17. www.investing.com, 18. www.investing.com, 19. www.investing.com, 20. www.investing.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. www.barchart.com, 23. www.nyse.com, 24. www.nasdaqtrader.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.investopedia.com, 27. www.nasdaq.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.investing.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.marketwatch.com, 33. www.reuters.com, 34. www.investing.com
