How Is Abbott Laboratories' Stock Performance Compared to Other Medical Devices Stocks?
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North Chicago, Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories (ABT) develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of healthcare products, including medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic pharmaceuticals, and nutritional products. Valued at a market cap of $230.9 billion, the company is best known for its leading brands, including Ensure, Pedialyte, Similac, and FreeStyle Libre.
Companies valued at $200 billion or more are typically classified as “mega-cap stocks,” and ABT fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the medical devices industry. With operations in more than 160 countries, the company plays a significant role in advancing healthcare worldwide by focusing on innovation in diagnostics, diabetes care, cardiovascular devices, nutrition, and medicines.
This healthcare giant has dipped 6.1% from its 52-week high of $141.23, reached on Mar. 4. Shares of ABT have declined marginally over the past three months, underperforming the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF’s (IHI) slight gain during the same time frame.
Nonetheless, in the longer term, ABT has surged 17.5% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming IHI’s 6.6% uptick over the same time period. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of ABT are up 17.3%, compared to IHI’s 6.5% return.
To confirm its bullish trend, ABT has been trading above its 200-day moving average over the past year, with slight fluctuations, and has remained above its 50-day moving average since mid-August, with minor fluctuations.
On Jul. 17, ABT released its Q2 results. The company’s revenue grew 7.4% year-over-year to $11.1 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by a slight margin. Moreover, its adjusted EPS of $1.26 increased 10.5% from the year-ago quarter and surpassed analyst expectations by a penny. However, despite delivering better-than-expected performance, its shares tumbled 8.5% after the earnings release.
ABT has outpaced its rival, Medtronic plc (MDT), which gained 5.1% over the past 52 weeks and 16.2% on a YTD basis.
Despite ABT’s recent underperformance, analysts remain highly optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy” from the 27 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $144.22 suggests an 8.7% premium to its current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain 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.