New York, Feb 13, 2026, 17:59 EST — After-hours
AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) shares were up about 1.8% at $231.50 in after-hours trade on Friday, after the closing bell. Volume for the day stood at roughly 8.25 million shares.
The drugmaker has been in focus since it sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over Botox’s inclusion in Medicare’s drug price negotiation program, created under the Inflation Reduction Act — a process that can force price cuts on selected medicines. AbbVie argued Botox should be excluded because it is a “plasma-derived product” and said the caps would leave it selling at “confiscatory prices”; HHS said it does not discuss pending litigation. Botox accounted for just over 10% of AbbVie’s $61.16 billion revenue last year, according to the company’s filing cited by Reuters. (Reuters)
Investors also heard from AbbVie on growth drivers beyond its older blockbuster Humira franchise. At a Piper Sandler virtual immunology symposium on Friday, the company flagged a slate of mid-stage updates due later this year in hidradenitis suppurativa and inflammatory bowel disease. AbbVie said it expects Phase II data — a mid-stage trial that tests whether a drug works and at what dose — for lutikizumab and Rinvoq in hidradenitis suppurativa by year-end, and pointed to additional readouts for Skyrizi and combination studies. (Investing)
AbbVie’s bid showed up in the tape before the symposium. The stock gained 2.99% on Thursday even as the S&P 500 fell 1.57%, snapping a three-day losing streak, with volume above its 50-day average. (MarketWatch)
In regular trading on Friday, AbbVie rose 1.76% to $231.50 as the S&P 500 inched up 0.05% and the Dow gained 0.10%. AbbVie outpaced Johnson & Johnson, which fell 0.45%, while Pfizer and Amgen posted smaller gains. (MarketWatch)
The stock is still working through the hangover from early-February earnings and immunology debates. After AbbVie forecast 2026 adjusted profit above estimates, shares slid on a Rinvoq sales miss; William Blair analyst Matt Phipps pointed to rising competition in immunology, particularly from Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, and CFO Scott Reents flagged “low-single-digit” pricing headwinds for key products. (Reuters)
Still, the Botox dispute could turn into a grind. A court setback, or simply months with no clear timetable, would keep policy risk hanging over a franchise investors treat as a steady earner.
Pipeline readouts carry their own downside. Mid-stage data can move sentiment fast, and regulators tend to scrutinize infections and other safety signals when companies test stronger immunosuppression or combinations.
For Monday, traders will scan for the next docket update in the Botox case and any broader spillover from price-control litigation across the sector. The next hard date on many calendars is AbbVie’s spring earnings update, which is currently estimated for around April 24. (Marketbeat)
