5 Best Defensive Stocks For An Upcoming Crash

2. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71     

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals. The firm features on the list of best defensive stocks to invest in. On September 6, the company announced that a drug named Linzess had met the main and secondary goals of a phase 3 trial in pediatric patients aged six years to 17 years with functional constipation. Linzess is approved in the US to treat adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation but not approved for use in patients less than 18 years of age. 

On September 21, JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott maintained an Overweight rating on AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) stock with a price target of $180, noting the firm was among the best large cap ideas in the business.

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Boston-based investment firm Arrowstreet Capital is a leading shareholder in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), with 4.3 million shares worth more than $645 million.  

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“We added to our health care exposure in the quarter with the purchases of Straumann Holding (OTCPK:SAUHF), a Swiss manufacturer of medical instruments, implants and related supplies for dental procedures, in the secular bucket and U.S. pharmaceutical maker AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the structural bucket. Straumann is the global market leader in dental implants with 29% overall share, a meaningful position within premium implants and smaller share in value implants. The company is also involved in clear aligners through a series of acquisitions as well as peripheral capital equipment around those businesses.

Growth will come from increasing share in both value implants and clear aligners through expansion in emerging markets on top of market growth in its premium implant business. AbbVie is undergoing a transition in anticipation of loss of exclusivity for its blockbuster Humira in the next several years with several commercial therapeutics, led by Skyrizi for psoriasis and Rinvoq for rheumatoid arthritis.”