AbbVie Ready to Breakdown? – March 26, 2021

A key support level has emerged in the chart of AbbVie Inc. (ABBV).  If the stock price falls below this level, a breakdown is expected.

ABBV is a drug company with leadership roles in therapeutic areas including immunology, hematologic oncology, neuroscience, aesthetics, eye care and women’s health. The company’s top drug, Humira, represents close to half of the company’s current profits.

The company outperformed fourth quarter estimates for earnings and sales. It has been successful in expanding labels for cancer drugs, Imbruvica and Venclexta and has a strong late-stage pipeline. ABBV’s acquisition of Allergan has diversified its revenue into new areas, providing it with additional long-term growth prospects.

ABBV had $8.47 billion in cash as of the end of the latest quarter, but its short-term debt was a little higher at $8.5 billion. Though the company is quite profitable with a return on equity of 34.8%.

While the stock is up over 60% in the past twelve months, it has been trending down over the past month. This has led to a Momentum Grade of D in our POWR Ratings system.

Take a look at the 1-year chart of ABBV below with added notations:

ABBV has created a key level of support at the $102 (green) level over the past several months. The stock has made its way back down to that level again, and another bounce took place.

If the support level were to break, a breakdown is expected and lower prices will likely follow for ABBV. Therefore, a trader could enter a short position if the stock were to break $102.

I have explored virtually every flavor of technical analysis and chart pattern known to mankind. The sad fact is that the vast majority of them don’t work at all.

Author: Christian Tharp, CMT