Astrazeneca (AZN) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know
The latest trading session saw Astrazeneca (AZN) ending at $66.19, denoting a +1.41% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.03%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.34%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.51%.
The pharmaceutical's stock has dropped by 1.92% in the past month, falling short of the Medical sector's gain of 2.1% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.21%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Astrazeneca is projected to report earnings of $0.97 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.04%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $12 billion, showing a 10.32% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.07 per share and revenue of $51.02 billion, which would represent changes of +12.12% and +11.37%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.49% downward. Astrazeneca is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Astrazeneca currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.03. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.43.
One should further note that AZN currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.19. 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 Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.71 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 171, which puts it in the bottom 33% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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 Report
