Robert W. Baird Upgrades Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) to Strong-Buy

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Argus lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.42.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 3.3%

ABT stock opened at $95.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.41. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $137.49. The firm has a market cap of $165.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Freemont Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,580,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 246,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $30,931,000 after buying an additional 48,286 shares during the period. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $185,640,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,366,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Abbott with an “outperform” rating and a $121 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Baird’s bullish view follows a broader positive analyst backdrop, with another report highlighting Abbott among Wednesday’s notable Wall Street research calls. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also benefited from news that Tandem Diabetes Care launched compatibility for its t:slim X2 insulin pump with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor in five international markets, which may support adoption of Abbott’s diabetes device ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott cleared a major legal risk after the DOJ ended its criminal formula probe, removing a potential overhang that had weighed on the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent coverage compares Abbott with Intuitive Surgical as a healthcare investment idea, but this is more commentary than a direct catalyst for the shares. Article Title

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.