AbbVie Shorts at a Year Low as Analyst Targets Climb

Short sellers have largely walked away from ABBV, with short interest now at its lowest level in at least a year.

The position has been cut nearly in half since mid-September, when shorts held more than 20 million shares. By October 22 that had fallen to 15.5 million shares, just 0.88% of the free float, a 24% reduction over the past month. The borrow market tells the same story: availability is effectively unlimited, with the lending pool carrying more than 100 times current short interest, and cost to borrow is a negligible 0.45%. There is no squeeze dynamic here. It is a stock where the short case has been progressively abandoned.

Analyst targets have moved in the same direction as the shorts have retreated. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $294 from $258 on October 23, maintaining a Neutral rating. That follows Barclays lifting to $325 from $300, Morgan Stanley to $310 from $296, and JPMorgan to $300 from $285, all within the past three weeks. The consensus mean price target now sits at $284.79, close to the current price of $285.64. Firms with Overweight or Buy ratings outnumber the neutrals, but the stock has already moved through the midpoint of the target range, which narrows the implied upside even as targets continue to drift higher.

The core disagreement heading into the October 29 report is about runway. The bull case rests on Skyrizi and Rinvoq continuing to absorb Humira's decline while adding incremental revenue, with the company having now delivered three consecutive beat-and-raise quarters. Bears point to Imbruvica prescriptions already running 17% below last year, pricing pressure across the portfolio, and Q3 estimates that showed revenue and EPS already tracking below the initial consensus. The aesthetics segment, roughly 8% of 2025 sales, adds exposure to discretionary spending that the immunology franchise does not carry.

The print will test whether Skyrizi and Rinvoq growth rates remain steep enough to sustain double-digit EPS expansion at a stock trading at 18 times earnings, with consensus targets now clustered within 10% of the current price on both sides.