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In an SEC filing, AbbVie ABBV has disclosed that it is lowering its previously issued guidance for 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by 88 cents due to in-process research and development (IPR&D) expenses incurred for acquisitions and collaborations during the fourth quarter.
The adjusted EPS guidance for full-year 2024 was lowered from $10.90-$10.94 to $10.02-$10.06 due to acquisition costs of $1.6 billion on a pre-tax basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this metric is pegged at $10.96.
Including the acquired IPR&D and milestone expense, the fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guided range was lowered to $2.06-$2.10 from $2.94-$2.98. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.99 per share.
The above projection does not impact AbbVie’s previously issued guidance for 2024 revenues, which are expected to be around $56 billion. Sales for the fourth quarter are expected to be roughly $14.8 billion.
ABBV is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results on Jan. 31.
ABBV Stock Performance
In the past year, shares of AbbVie have gained about 12% against the industry’s 2% decline.
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What Led ABBV to Lower Its EPS Guidance?
During the fourth quarter, AbbVie completed the previously announced $1.4 billion acquisition of private biotech Aliada Therapeutics, which develops neuroscience drugs. With this new acquisition, AbbVie added Aliada’s lead pipeline drug, ALIA-1758, an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta antibody being evaluated in an early-stage study for Alzheimer's disease.
AbbVie also signed a collaboration and option-to-license agreement with EvolveImmune Therapeutics to develop next-generation cancer biotherapeutics and expanded its existing neuroscience partnership with Gedeon Richter. The closing of these agreements is likely to have triggered upfront cash payments from AbbVie’s end.
ABBV’s Zacks Rank
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
AbbVie Inc. Price
AbbVie Inc. price | AbbVie Inc. Quote
Key Picks Among Biotech Stocks
Some better-ranked stocks from the sector are Castle Biosciences CSTL, Puma Biotechnology PBYI and Spero Therapeutics SPRO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Bottom-line estimates for Castle Biosciences have improved from a loss of 8 cents per share to earnings of 34 cents for 2024 in the past 60 days. During the same timeframe, loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from $1.88 to $1.84. In the past year, shares of Castle Biosciences have surged 34.3%.