In the latest trading session, Align Technology (ALGN) closed at $217.23, marking a -0.94% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.02%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.39%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of the Invisalign tooth-straightening system had lost 0.32% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.19% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 2.56% in that time.

ALGN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 29, 2019. On that day, ALGN is projected to report earnings of $1.16 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 2.52%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $512.12 million, up 21.55% from the prior-year quarter.

ALGN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.87 per share and revenue of $1.95 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +25.19% and +32.13%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for ALGN. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-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. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 0.27% lower. ALGN is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that ALGN has a Forward P/E ratio of 45.01 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.66.

Also, we should mention that ALGN has a PEG ratio of 1.91. 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. ALGN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.98 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 163, putting it in the bottom 37% 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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