Stock Update: AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) – AbbVie’s Venetoclax Receives Breakthrough Therapy Designation from FDA in Combination with Rituximab for the Treatment of Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

[PR Newswire] – NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — AbbVie (ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for venetoclax in combination with rituximab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (R/R CLL). Venetoclax is an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein being developed by AbbVie in partnership with Genentech and Roche. The designation is supported by an investigational study of venetoclax in combination with rituximab in patients with R/R CLL. Read more on this. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) , valued at $89.81B, started the session at $54.21. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $53.70 to $55.14 and has traded between $45.45 and $71.60 over the past year. Priced at 12.82x this year’s forecasted earnings, ABBV shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -2.14x forward p/e ratio. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $2.28 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.18%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 16 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.12 per share, which would be $0.23 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $4.29 is a $0.97 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $6.39 Billion. If reported, that would be a 18.99% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Morgan Stanley upgraded ABBV from Equal-Weight to Overweight (Nov 2, 2015). Previously, Citigroup upgraded ABBV from Sell to Neutral. When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $73.13, which is 34.90% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:ABBV) Similar Articles: Company Update: AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) – Bristol-Myers Squibb and AbbVie Receive FDA Approval of Empliciti™ (elotuzumab) for the Treatment of Patients with Multiple Myeloma Who Have Received One to Three Prior Therapies Stock Update: AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) – AbbVie Announces High Sustained Virologic Response Rates in Phase 2 Studies with Pan-genotypic, Investigational Regimen in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Company Update: AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) – AbbVie Announces Submission of a Supplemental New Drug Application for IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) for Treatment-Naive Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia