Yahoo Finance Astrazeneca (AZN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $68.64 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.06% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.42% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 5.16%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 5.25% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 1.28%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.27%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Astrazeneca as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.84, down 11.58% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.34 billion, down 0.44% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $46.35 billion. These totals would mark changes of +8.41% and +4.51%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Astrazeneca is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Astrazeneca currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.01. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.17, which means Astrazeneca is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.26. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.76 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, putting it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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
