Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products.

 Abbott and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the availability of AMITIZA® (lubiprostone) in Japan, a prescription medicine for the treatment of chronic constipation not caused by organic diseases. AMITIZA was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan in June.

A trio of oral medicines from Abbott Laboratories Inc to treat hepatitis C produced unprecedented cure rates in patients who had failed to benefit from standard treatment, as well as very high cure rates for newly treated patients.

Investors and patients have very high hopes for the Abbott drugs – a protease inhibitor called ABT-450, a polymerase inhibitor ABT-333 and ABT-267 from a class known as NS5A inhibitors. They are used without interferon, an injectable standard treatment that causes flu-like symptoms.

Shares of Abbott Laboratories are trading at $64.47. It is little below its 100-day Moving Average price of $66.15 and above its 250-day Moving Average price of $60.81.  Technically, it has been showing support around $62.62 and resistance in the $68.71 price range. MACD (12,26) and RSI(14) are  increasing. The overall technical indicator shows a strong  buy with the $80.25 target price in six months.