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North Chicago, Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories (ABT) discovers, develops & manufactures a diversified line of healthcare products. Valued at $239.4 billion by market cap, Abbott’s extensive portfolio includes life-changing technologies, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional and branded generic medicines.
Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as "mega-cap stocks," Abbott Laboratories fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the healthcare sector. Abbott employs nearly 114,000 people in more than 160 countries across the globe.
ABT touched its three-year high of $138.37 in the previous trading session of Feb. 28 before slightly pulling back. ABT stock has soared more than 16% over the past three months, outpacing the Dow Jones Industrials Average’s ($DOWI) 2% dip during the same time frame.
Over the longer term, Abbott’s performance looks even more impressive. ABT has soared nearly 15% over the past 52 weeks and 22.2% over the past six months, outpacing Dow’s 12.6% surge over the past year and 6.7% gains over the past six months.
To confirm the bullish trend, Abbott has remained consistently above its 200-day moving average since early August 2024 and above its 50-day moving average since mid-Jan.
Abbott Laboratories’ stock prices increased 85 basis points after the release of its impressive Q4 results on Feb. 22. Driven by robust growth in organic sales in the U.S. as well as internationally, Abbott’s overall topline increased 7.2% year-over-year to approximately $11 billion. Meanwhile, the company observed a significant improvement in profitability, with its non-GAAP earnings surging 12.2% year-over-year to $2.4 billion and its adjusted EPS increasing 12.6% year-over-year to $1.34, matching the Street’s expectations.
Furthermore, the company expects its full-year 2025 adjusted operating margin to range between 23.5% to 24%, representing a 150 basis point expansion at midpoint compared to 2024. Meanwhile, its 2025 organic sales are expected to grow 7.5% to 8.5%, which boosted investor confidence.
Despite its solid performance, Abbott has notably underperformed its peer Boston Scientific Corporation’s (BSX) 54.9% surge over the past year and 30.5% returns over the past six months.
Among the 25 analysts covering the ABT stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” As of writing, the stock is trading slightly above its mean price target of $136.09.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
