Astrazeneca (AZN) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed the most recent trading day at $78.99, moving +1.24% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.11%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.56%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 2.19% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 2.86%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.06%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Astrazeneca in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.98, signifying a 9.26% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $12.49 billion, up 9.4% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.04 per share and a revenue of $51.78 billion, indicating changes of +11.29% and +13.03%, respectively, from the former year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.87% higher. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Astrazeneca currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.3. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.19.
Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.4. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.61 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 157, finds itself in the bottom 38% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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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