Astrazeneca (AZN) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $65.86, marking a -0.6% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.31% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.41%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.27%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 0.65% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 0.57%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.05%.
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%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $12 billion, indicating a 10.32% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
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.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 moved 0.41% lower. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Astrazeneca is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.27. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 14.44 for its industry.
Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.21. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.73.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 206, finds itself in the bottom 19% echelons 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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
