14 Best 52-Week High Stocks to Buy According to Short Sellers

10. AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)

52 Week Range: $135.85 – $198.30

Current Share Price: $195.18

Short interest rate: 1.14%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) is a healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide. It is one of the biggest drug makers, best known for Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet’s disease. It also offers Rinvoq for treating rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis.

It is one of the best 52-week high stocks to buy, according to short sellers, owing to its strong pipeline of drugs and strategic acquisitions that continue to strengthen its long-term prospects and growth metrics. The European Commission’s approval of TEPKINYL, the company’s novel treatment for adult patients with follicular lymphoma, is one of the factors driving the stock higher.

In addition to strengthening its drug pipeline, AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) has acquired Cerevel therapeutics, significantly expanding its neuroscience portfolio. With the acquisition, the company gains access to treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.

The company delivered solid second-quarter results, which were attributed to the significant momentum of the ex-Humira growth platform, continued investments in the business, and pipeline progress. Consequently, the company is well-positioned to deliver our top-tier long-term outlook.

Revenues in the quarter were up 4.3% to $14.46 billion, as diluted earnings per share dropped 32% to $0.77 a share. Even though there was a significant drop in earnings, the business has shown earnings growth of 4.31% each quarter, suggesting a possible recovery in its sales path. Moreover, the company maintains a robust gross profit margin of 69.66%, highlighting its skill in controlling expenses.

AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) is trading at a forward price to earnings growth of 18 and offering a 3.18% dividend yield. Insider Monkey’s analysis of 912 hedge fund portfolios shows that 67 hedge funds reported owning stakes in AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) as of the end of the June quarter.

Polen Focus Growth Strategy made the following comment about AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“In the second quarter, the top relative contributors to the Portfolio’s performance were all names we do not hold: Home Depot, Meta Platforms, and AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV). AbbVie fell on the back of results that failed to allay concerns around continuing biosimilar threats to its very large, blockbuster arthritis drug, Humira, which went off patent last year.”