The company is in talks to sell a $5 billion portfolio of women's drugs
AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) is in the spotlight this morning, after news that the pharmaceutical company is in talks to sell a $5 billion portfolio of women's drugs. According to Reuters, the company acquired these drugs through its $63 billion purchase of Allergan this past year. Furthermore, Citigroup today raised its price target on the equity to $125 from $105. At last check, ABBV was up 0.5% to trade at $110.76.
On the charts, ABBV has been creeping up toward its recent Jan. 13 nearly three-year high of $113.41. A double layer of support looks to have formed at both the $102 level and 80-day moving average. Year-over-year, the equity is up 49%.
Analysts are mostly bullish on AbbVie stock, with 12 of the 16 analysts in coverage at a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $122.63 comes into today with a 10.8% premium to current levels.
Sentiment is similar in the options pits. ABBV's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.69 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than 91% of readings from the past year. This means long calls have been picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate over the last 10 weeks.
Now might not be a bad time to weigh in on these options either. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25% stands higher than just 9% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.