In the latest close session, Astrazeneca (AZN) was down 1.17% at $69.26. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.54%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.52%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.74%.
The pharmaceutical's shares have seen a decrease of 0.96% over the last month, surpassing the Medical sector's loss of 2.12% and falling behind the S&P 500's gain of 4.2%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Astrazeneca in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on July 29, 2025. In that report, analysts expect Astrazeneca to post earnings of $1.1 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.11%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $14.03 billion, up 8.42% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.5 per share and a revenue of $57.68 billion, indicating changes of +9.49% and +6.67%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.11% downward. Astrazeneca is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Astrazeneca has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.59 right now. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.38 for its industry.
It is also worth noting that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.29. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.55 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, positioning it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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