In the latest trading session, Pfizer (PFE) closed at $24.88, marking a -1.31% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.46%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.17%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.57%.
Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 0.04% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 1.59% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.22%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Pfizer in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Pfizer is projected to report earnings of $0.58 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 7.94%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $17.1 billion, down 3.75% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.1 per share and revenue of $61.99 billion. These totals would mark changes of -0.32% and -2.57%, respectively, from last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Pfizer. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.52% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Pfizer currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Pfizer currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.12. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.47, so one might conclude that Pfizer is trading at a discount comparatively.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 191, this industry ranks in the bottom 23% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
