Billionaire Ken Griffin Just Loaded Up on AbbVie and Abbott. Here's Whether Investors Should Follow His Lead.

Ken Griffin recently boosted stakes in AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), according to his latest 13F. Griffin is the billionaire founder and CEO of the hedge fund company Citadel. Arguably one of the sharpest minds in the hedge-fund world, he is leaning into two healthcare machines that sit right at the intersection of science and steady cash; that's a signal worth thinking about.

Griffin's portfolio holds over 1,000 positions and hundreds of billions of dollars. He can put money almost anywhere. Yet he raised his exposure to AbbVie, a drug developer built on immunology and oncology, and Abbott, a device and diagnostics giant embedded in hospitals and homes across the globe.

That tells me he wants a core slice of healthcare that can keep working through many market moods. Let's see if investors should follow his lead.

Citadel's Ken Griffin. Image source: The Motley Fool.

What does AbbVie do?

AbbVie's story starts with Humira, but it doesn't end there. Years ago, management accepted that the drug's patent clock would run out and built a plan to grow past it. The company now treats Skyrizi and Rinvoq as its new backbone in immunology, with combined 2027 sales targeted above $31 billion and trial programs across psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, and skin conditions. That immunology base gives AbbVie a cash engine that supports major exploratory work in cancer and neuroscience.

In oncology, AbbVie is building a portfolio around antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and other targeted medicines that aim to hit tumors hard while sparing healthy tissue. Deals like the ImmunoGen acquisition brought in Elahere for ovarian cancer, plus a pipeline of new ADCs. Epkinly, a CD20xCD3 bispecific, is moving through multiple lines of lymphoma treatment. AbbVie's own pipeline charts show dozens of programs in phase 2 and phase 3 across blood cancers and solid tumors, along with eye care and aesthetics, which add more diversity to the income stream.

To me, that looks like a company that already has one strong franchise and is using it to build several more. When someone like Griffin leans into AbbVie, I suspect he values that mix of present cash and future shots on goal. For regular investors, the appeal is similar: You're buying into a strategy that treats immunology as the base and oncology and neuroscience as upside.

What about Abbott Laboratories?

Abbott plays a different role. It makes products that clinics, labs, and patients interact with every day, from FreeStyle Libre glucose monitors to heart devices and lab analyzers. When Abbott raises its profit forecast, it does so because millions of tests and procedures flow through its gear, not because of a single launch. The latest quarter showed strong growth in diagnostics, including cancer screening, and solid demand for medical devices, enough for management to calm worries about procedure volumes and to lift its 2026 adjusted profit range.

The company's diabetes-care story explains some of the appeal. Its Libre sensors now reach more than 60 countries, with reimbursement in more than 40, making continuous glucose monitoring part of daily life for millions of people with diabetes. That kind of installed base is hard for competitors to dislodge. On top of that, Abbott continues to show up at events like CES with new biowearables and consumer-facing health tech, hinting at a pipeline that blends medical rigor with mainstream reach.

Should you buy in?

Should you follow Griffin's lead? That depends on your goals, but I think his focus on these two names highlights something useful. AbbVie gives you a drug company that has weathered one major patent shock and is building the next era on purpose, not by luck. Abbott gives you a health technology company that sits inside care pathways for diabetes, diagnostics, and cardiovascular health, and keeps refreshing its products.

For my own portfolio, that combination makes sense as part of a long-term healthcare allocation. I would not buy either stock only because a billionaire did. I would buy them because I see businesses with clear roles, strong positions, and management teams that treat innovation and patient impact as ongoing work.

Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie and Abbott Laboratories. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.