AbbVie (ABBV) Announces Appointment of New CEO Robert Michael
AbbVie ABBV announced that its current president and chief operating officer, Robert A. Michael, has been appointed as the new chief executive officer (CEO). The board unanimously selected Robert Michael to succeed Richard A. Gonzalez, who is retiring from his role as CEO after serving in this capacity since AbbVie was formed in 2013. AbbVie came into existence on Jan 1, 2013, after Abbott Laboratories divested its pharmaceutical division. Gonzalez will become executive chairman of the board of directors, effective Jul 1, 2024, when the transition happens.
Robert Michael has also been appointed as a member of the board of directors, effective Jul 1, 2024.
In the past year, AbbVie’s stock has risen 16.6% compared with an increase of 28.9% for the industry.
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Robert Michael has been part of AbbVie since its formation and played a key role in establishing the company’s financial planning organization, diversifying its business strategy, navigating the company through Humira’s loss of exclusivity and supporting important M&A activity, including the acquisitions of Allergan (2020), ImmunoGen and the pending Cerevel Therapeutics CERE transactions this year.
In December, AbbVie announced a definitive agreement to acquire neuroscience drugmaker Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7 billion. The acquisition will strengthen AbbVie’s neuroscience pipeline by adding CERE’s novel pipeline candidates being studied across a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease (PD) and mood disorders.
Generic versions of AbbVie's blockbuster immunology medicine Humira have been denting revenues in Europe since 2018. In the United States, several biosimilar versions were launched in 2023, which are eroding U.S. revenues. However, AbbVie has successfully navigated Humira's loss of exclusivity by launching two other successful new immunology medicines, Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
AbbVie has launched Skyrizi and Rinvoq across Humira's major indications, plus a distinct new indication, atopic dermatitis. These have already contributed meaningful revenues, including $7.7 billion in 2022 and $11.7 billion in 2023. With approvals for many new indications, sales of these drugs could be higher in future quarters and may replace Humira sales. Skyrizi and Rinvoq are expected to collectively exceed the peak revenues achieved by Humira by 2027. AbbVie expects the combined sales (risk-adjusted) of Skyrizi and Rinvoq to be more than $27 billion by 2027.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
AbbVie currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
AbbVie Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
AbbVie Inc. price-eps-surprise | AbbVie Inc. Quote
Some better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector are Puma Biotechnology PBYI and AC Immune ACIU. While Puma Biotechnology sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AC Immune has a Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Puma Biotechnology’s 2024 earnings per share have improved from 64 cents to 69 cents. In the past year, shares of PBYI have risen 56.9%.
Earnings of Puma Biotechnology beat estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing the same once. PBYI delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 76.55%.
In the past 60 days, estimates for AC Immune’s 2024 loss per share have narrowed from 58 cents to 54 cents. In the past year, shares of ACIU have risen 40.9%.
AC Immune delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.15%.
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