Astrazeneca (AZN) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $65.18 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.54% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.15%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 3.16%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 6.81% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 5.41%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.39%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Astrazeneca as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Astrazeneca to post earnings of $0.84 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 11.58%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.34 billion, down 0.44% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $46.35 billion, which would represent changes of +8.41% and +4.51%, 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. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.46% higher. Astrazeneca is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Astrazeneca has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.79 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.65.
Investors should also note that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.18 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.57 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 108, which puts it in the top 43% of all 250+ industries.
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.
To follow AZN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
