NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of drug maker AbbVie are rising slightly today after Deutsche Bank recommended using the recent weakness in the stock as a buying opportunity. Deutsche Bank's note comes after two research firms disagreed on AbbVie's outlook in notes to investors earlier this week, as reported Monday by The Fly. BACKGROUND: On Monday, Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford wrote that AbbVie's stock had reached a great entry point. The recent decline in the company's stock on Gilead's guidance for greater than expected discounts on its hepatitis C drug was unwarranted, as AbbVie's guidance already factored in similar discounts for its own hepatitis C treatment, Holford contended. Conversely, Citigroup analyst Andrew Baum initiated coverage of AbbVie that day with a Sell rating, as he contended that the market underestimated the impact that biosimilars will have on AbbVie's Humira drug. TODAY'S TAKE: Like Holford, Deutsche Bank analyst Robyn Karnauskas believes that AbbVie's stock is attractive after its recent decline. Noting that the stock is trading at a 30%-40% discount to its peers based on 2015-2019 earnings estimates, Karnauskas says that revenue from drugs currently in AbbVie's pipeline will more than offset any erosion in its Humira revenues caused by biosimilar competitors. Moreover, the analyst is upbeat on the stock's risk/reward ratio, estimating that, in a worst case scenario the stock will only drop 20% below current levels, while the shares could rise 45% if the most likely scenario plays out. She kept an $80 price target and Buy rating on the shares. PRICE ACTION: In early trading, AbbVie rose 1% to $57.50. Over the last month, AbbVie shares are down nearly 13%. Reporting by Larry Ramer.
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