AbbVie Up More Than 30% in 6 Months: How to Play the Stock

AbbVie ABBV stock has risen 30.7% in the past six months compared with an increase of 8.9% for the industry. The stock has also outperformed the sector and the S&P 500 index, as seen in the chart below.ABBV Stock Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P 500Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe stock has also been trading above its 50 and 200-day moving averages since July. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchA lot of this price increase can be attributed to the recent recovery in the pharma sector. The drug and biotech sector has recovered in the past month, with large drugmakers like Pfizer PFE and AstraZeneca AZN signing drug pricing agreements with the Trump administration. PFE and AZN have offered to cut prescription drug prices and boost domestic investments in exchange for a three-year exemption from tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.The deals between PFE and AZN and the Trump administration have raised hopes of a sustainable sector recovery, with the President offering to hold off the tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to sign similar deals with other drugmakers.AbbVie has successfully navigated the loss of exclusivity (LOE) of its blockbuster drug, Humira, which once generated more than 50% of its total revenues. It has accomplished this by launching two other successful new immunology medicines, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which are performing extremely well, bolstered by approvals in new indications, and should support top-line growth in the next few years.AbbVie’s oncology and neuroscience drugs are also contributing to top-line growth. It has been on an acquisition spree in the past couple of years to bolster its early-stage pipeline that should drive long-term growth. AbbVie does face its share of headwinds, like Humira LOE impact, increasing competitive pressure on Imbruvica and slowing sales of its aesthetics franchise. Let’s understand all these factors in detail to better analyze how to play ABBV stock amid the price gain.ABBV’s Successful New Drugs — Skyrizi and RinvoqAbbVie lost patent protection for Humira in the United States in January 2023 and in the EU in 2018. Humira's sales are declining due to LOE and biosimilar erosion. However, sales of Skyrizi and Rinvoq have successfully replaced Humira. Skyrizi and Rinvoq generated combined sales of $11.6 billion in the first half of 2025.The drugs are seeing strong performance across all approved indications, especially in the popular inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) space, which includes two conditions — ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). Skyrizi sales are now annualizing at almost $18 billion and Rinvoq at over $8 billion. AbbVie expects combined sales of Skyrizi and Rinvoq to be more than $25 billion in 2025 and more than $31 billion by 2027. Strong immunology market growth, market share gains and momentum from new indications, such as the recent launch of Skyrizi in UC, as well as the potential for five new indications for Rinvoq over the next few years, are expected to drive these drugs’ growth.  AbbVie recently settled patent litigation with all generic manufacturers for Rinvoq, which extended the drug’s patent exclusivity by four years to 2037.ABBV’s Oncology & Neuroscience Drugs Also ContributingAbbVie has built a substantial oncology franchise with Imbruvica and Venclexta. Its oncology segment generated combined revenues of $3.3 billion in the first half of 2025, up 4.2% year over year as higher sales of Venclexta and contributions from new drugs, Elahere and Epkinly, more than offset the decline in Imbruvica sales. Some key oncology drugs approved in the past couple of years are Epkinly and Emrelis. Elahere was added to AbbVie’s oncology portfolio with the February 2024 acquisition of Immunogen. These three new drugs have strengthened AbbVie’s oncology franchise.AbbVie’s neuroscience portfolio is also contributing to top-line growth. Sales of its neuroscience drugs increased 20.3% to almost $5 billion in the first half of 2025, driven by higher sales of Botox Therapeutic, depression drug Vraylar and newer migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta.AbbVie on an Acquisition SpreeAbbVie has been on an inorganic growth track over the past couple of years to bolster its early-stage pipeline, which should drive long-term growth. Particularly, it is signing several M&A deals in the immunology space, its core area, while also signing some early-stage deals in oncology and neuroscience areas. AbbVie has executed more than 30 M&A transactions since the beginning of 2024. In a key recent deal, it acquired private biotech, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals' bretisilocin, a novel, investigational therapy for major depressive disorder. The deal will strengthen its neuroscience pipeline.ABBV’s Slowing Aesthetics Sales & Humira ErosionSales of AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira are declining due to biosimilar erosion. The launch of Humira biosimilars in the United States in 2023 significantly eroded the drug’s sales in 2024, with the decline being sharper in 2025 as more plans excluded branded Humira and moved to exclusive biosimilar contracts. Humira sales declined more than 50% in the first half of 2025. AbbVie expects Humira’s access in the United States to continue to decrease through the second half as more plans select exclusionary formularies for existing patients.AbbVie is seeing declining sales of Juvederm fillers due to continued macro challenges and weakened consumer sentiment. The slowing growth of the U.S. facial injectables market and persistent economic headwinds, which are impacting consumer spending in some countries, including the United States, are hurting sales of Juvederm due to its higher price point. Juvederm sales declined 22.2% in the first half of 2025.ABBV Stock Price, Valuation and Estimate RevisionFrom a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is slightly expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 16.72 forward earnings, higher than 15.64 for the industry. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 13.21.ABBV Stock ValuationImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has declined from $12.03 per share to $11.12, while that for 2026 has increased from $14.43 to $14.46 per share over the past 30 days.ABBV Estimate MovementImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchStay Invested in ABBV StockThough AbbVie faces its share of near-term headwinds, the company has faced its biggest challenge — Humira’s patent cliff — quite well and looks well-positioned for continued strong growth in the years ahead. AbbVie is returning to robust revenue growth in 2025, which is just the second year following the U.S. Humira LOE, driven by its ex-Humira platform.Boosted by its new product launches, AbbVie expects to return to mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2025 with a high single-digit CAGR through 2029, as the company has no significant LOE events for the rest of this decade. A substantial portion of this growth is expected to be driven by the robust performance of Skyrizi and Rinvoq. With no significant LOEs in this decade, AbbVie enjoys the flexibility to invest more in R&D to continue to acquire external innovation.Rising stock price and estimates (for 2026), its solid pipeline and the fact that it is entering the second half of the year with substantial momentum are good enough reasons to stay invested in this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. Little-known AI firms tackling the world's biggest problems may be more lucrative in the coming months and years.See "2nd Wave" AI stocks now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report AbbVie Inc. (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks