AbbVie
This is a top pharmaceutical stock pick across Wall Street. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company develops and markets drugs in areas such as immunology, virology, renal disease, dyslipidemia and neuroscience.
One of the biggest concerns with AbbVie is what might happen eventually with anti-inflammatory therapy Humira, which has some of the largest sales for a drug ever recorded. The company was concerned, so in June of 2019 it announced that it has agreed to pay $63 billion for rival drugmaker Allergan, the latest merger in an industry in which some of the biggest companies have been willing to pay a high price to resolve questions about their future growth. The purchase officially closed in May of 2020.
AbbVie may be nearing the limits of how far it can boost Humira’s price as cheaper competitors come to market, a problem Allergan is already grappling with as more alternatives to Botox emerge.
Shareholders receive a 3.78% dividend. Wells Fargo has a Wall Street high target price of $200 on AbbVie stock. The Wall Street consensus target is $163.01, and the stock closed trading on Friday at $143.20.
Becton Dickinson
This top health care company is a solid and safe play now. Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) develops, manufactures and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products for health care institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public worldwide.
Its BD Medical segment offers peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes and sharps disposal systems. It offers IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems. Products also include syringes, pen needles and other products for diabetes, as well as prefillable drug delivery systems.
The BD Life Sciences segment provides specimen and blood collection products. It offers automated blood and tuberculosis culturing, molecular testing, microorganism identification and drug susceptibility and liquid-based cytology systems, as well as rapid diagnostic assays, microbiology laboratory automation products and plated media products. Its products also include fluorescence-activated cell sorters and analyzers, antibodies and kits, reagent systems and solutions for single-cell gene expression analysis, as well as clinical oncology, immunological and transplantation diagnostic/monitoring reagents and analyzers.
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