Astrazeneca (AZN) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $58.35, marking a -0.1% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.04%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 3.67% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 3.23%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.35%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AZN as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect AZN to post earnings of $0.54 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.5%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7.6 billion, up 21.04% from the prior-year quarter.
AZN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.62 per share and revenue of $31.88 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +30.35% and +19.78%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AZN should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. AZN is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, AZN is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.34. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.97, so we one might conclude that AZN is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.19 right now. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.12 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 189, which puts it in the bottom 26% 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
