The most recent trading session ended with Astrazeneca (AZN) standing at $73.83, reflecting a +1.12% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.55%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.63%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 5.89% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's gain of 3.49% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 6.29% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.11, indicating a 12.12% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $14.03 billion, indicating an 8.42% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.49 per share and a revenue of $57.68 billion, representing changes of +9.25% and +6.67%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower within the past month. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Astrazeneca's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 16.25. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.92.
We can additionally observe that AZN currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.34. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.43.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 76, finds itself in the top 31% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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