Goldman Sachs analyst, Jami Rubin, reiterated his Buy rating on shares of Abbvie (NYSE: ABBV) after a strong operational beat and raise takes chunk out of the bear arguments. The beat was driven by strength outside of Humira which the analyst expects to increasingly contribute as the major pipeline assets/line extensions launch over the next couple of years.

The analyst stated "we see the $7.5bn Dutch Auction as a strong signal of management’s belief that the stock is significantly undervalued. Importantly, ABBV reiterated that it still has ample flexibility to continue executing on
its capital allocation strategy, with a focus on bolt-ons and building its mid-stage to early-stage pipeline assets".

No change to the price target of $135 which is based on 17.5x 2018E EPS.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Abbvie click here. For more ratings news on Abbvie click here.

Shares of Abbvie closed at $97.44 yesterday.