Plenty Of Opportunity In AbbVie, Even After Recent Run

The bullish outlook for AbbVie stems from a view that AbbVie will hold market exclusivity in the U.S. for its Humira therapy through 2023 after reaching a settlement with Amgen, Inc. AMGN versus a prior estimate of 2020 or 2021, Porges explained (see his track record here). The settlement also calls for a license structure in which Amgen will pay undisclosed royalties, likely until the Humira IP estate expires in the early 2030s. Related Links: UBS Downgrades AbbVie; Here's What Changed Analysts' View Jefferies Strongly Reiterates Top Pick Call On AbbVie

There is also the possibility of similar positive revisions from some of AbbVie's other late-stage products in its pipeline, including upadacitinib (JAK1), risankizumab (IL-23) and elagolix (GnRH). These are all products that will emerge from phase 3 studies over the next year and could collectively account for $6 billion in sales by 2023.

Looking forward, AbbVie is now projected to generate a 15-percent earnings per share compounded annual growth rate through 2021, which is superior to the top-performing large-cap pharma names at 11 percent.

"This growth horizon, along with the company's increasingly visible late stage pipeline, suggests that AbbVie's stock should continue to re-rate into the range of these large cap biopharma peers," the analyst emphasized.