Yahoo Finance Astrazeneca (AZN) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed the most recent trading day at $65.53, moving -0.7% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.25% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.08%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 7.26%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 3.1% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 0.75%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.73%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Astrazeneca as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.71, down 15.48% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.4 billion, down 5.09% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for 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.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.78% higher. Astrazeneca is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Astrazeneca's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.1. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.29.
It is also worth noting that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.21. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.74 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 153, putting it in the bottom 40% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
