Zoetis (ZTS) Moves 6.9% Higher: Will This Strength Last?
Zoetis (ZTS) shares soared 6.9% in the last trading session to close at $183.51. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 0.9% gain over the past four weeks.
The sudden rise in the stock price can be attributed to the positive investor mindset regarding Zoestis' upcoming earnings release. The company is scheduled to report its second quarter results, early this coming month.
This animal health company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.32 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +10%. Revenues are expected to be $2.17 billion, up 5.7% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Zoetis, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on ZTS going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Zoetis is part of the Zacks Medical - Drugs industry. Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 1.3% higher at $0.56. NKTR has returned 0% in the past month.
For Nektar , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.30. This represents a change of +64.7% from what the company reported a year ago. Nektar currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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