Rite Aid (RAD) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

Rite Aid (RAD) closed the most recent trading day at $11.02, moving -0.99% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.11%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.02%.

Heading into today, shares of the drugstore chain had gained 37.41% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 2.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.42% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from RAD as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.03, down 85% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.43 billion, down 0.41% from the year-ago period.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for RAD. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

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. RAD currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, RAD is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 92.75. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.05.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 167, which puts it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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