AbbVie Inc.

Likes it. A spin-off of Abbott Labs. They have made a purchase of Allergan that diluted the concentration of Humira. The company will get its legs so buy it and be patient.

A sort of contrarian call. Humera is their primary drug (US$19.5 billion annually) used for various immunology disorders. Competitors will nip at their heels here, of course, given that success. They have this drug through 2023. As importantly, they bought Allergan, makers of botox, which is executing. Pays a .5.5% dividend and trades at 7x earnings. There's a disconnect between company value/performance and market perception. A great balance sheet to support the dividend. (Analysts’ price target is $110.26)

Owns Abbott Labs instead, as it's more diversified. ABBV is pure pharma. They need to broaden reliance on a few key drugs.

Dominance of Humira on revenues had given them pause. Since then, it acquired Allergan, which diluted the concentration of Humera. Metrics are wonderful. 12% free cash flow yield. Trades at less than 10x earnings. Great dividend. Lots of runway ahead. Elective surgeries will come back. Anticipate $12.50 EPS this year, and more next. Yield is 5.42%. (Analysts’ price target is $109.35)

ABBV vs. PFE Switch to Abbvie. The whole pharma business has trouble at a structural level. They spend millions developing drugs, then watch the clock wind down till the generics can compete. Abbvie gives you an exciting bio-pharma alternative. Problem in the past was its one-drug focus, but the Allergan purchase diluted this risk. About 10x earnings, not expensive, great cash flow, good dividend.

Likes the sector. Also owns Merck, Regeneron, and LZAGY. ABBV is in immunology and oncology. 8x forward earnings, 8% growth rate, pretty fair valuation. Also involved in Covid antibodies. Likes the combination of decent growth and nice dividend of about 5%.

Allan Tong’s Discover Picks The good thing about this drugmaker is that its arthritis drug, Humira, has been a runaway success, making up 63% of company revenues. The problem with AbbVie is also Humira–it loses patent protection in American in 2023. Read Top 4 BNN Stock Picks to Buy this Summer for our full analysis.

Healthcare is one of his favourite sectors. 10% growth rate. Value is there. Beta is below S&P. Dividend of 4.7% or so. Good drug pipeline. Covid R&D is pushing the stock up. Allergan acquisition will give EPS a boost.

JNJ vs ABBV? He likes JNJ as a long term winner. It may be too expensive. ABBV was a risky company until they purchased Allergan and diversified their business more. ABBV trades at 8.4 times PE and earnings are expected to grow by 8% and have nice, safe dividend. They are still tethered to Humara, which has a lot of generics being developed. He would favor ABBV, although it is a little riskier than JNJ.

Loves it. He shied away from it in the past because its product offering was concentrated. When they were spun-off from Abbot Labs, it was spun-off with the successful rheumetory arthritis drug, Humira, but the drug made up 63% of company revenues, so the risk was high. In the last year, ABBV bought Allergan which should close this quarter after European and US approvals. Allergan is known for Botox. Together, this will be a great company. It trades at less than 9x PE. Pays a fine 5.5% dividend. The merger is accretive immediately. Great freee cash flow. However, they paid $60 billion for Allergan, but they have the cash flow to pay down that debt at very low interest rates. (Analysts’ price target is $96.33)