5 Companies that Recently Raised Guidance

2. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68 

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is an Illinois-based healthcare company. On July 20, the firm released earnings for the second quarter of 2022. It posted earnings per share of $1.43, beating analyst estimates by $0.29. The revenue over the period was $11.3 billion, up over 10% year-on-year and beating market estimates by $930 million. The company also raised full year earnings per share guidance to $3.50 per share. The guidance for COVID-related testing sales was $6.1 billion, over $5.6 billion of which have already been achieved. 

On July 21, RBC Capital analyst Shagun Singh maintained an Outperform rating on Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock and lowered the price target to $132 from $143, appreciating the solid second quarter results of the firm. 

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Ohio-based investment firm Diamond Hill Capital is a leading shareholder in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), with 6 million shares worth more than $721 million.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Diamond Hill Capital highlighted a few stocks and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) announced a recall of its infant formula brand Similac® in the US. Though the recall will impact near-term revenues, we are not concerned about any long-term impacts. We remain optimistic about the company’s prospects over the long run because, in our view, it is one of the highest quality names in health care with a talented management team that makes smart capital allocation decisions. Abbott also has leading health care and consumer franchises with a particularly strong competitive position in the medical device business. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) continues to launch innovative products in key strategic areas (such as diabetes, structural heart and diagnostics), which should help drive not only revenue growth but margin expansion.”