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Abbott (ABT) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

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Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $104.29, moving +0.64% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.47%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.23%.

Shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs have appreciated by 9.07% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's gain of 5.96% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 10.72%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Abbott in its forthcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect Abbott to post earnings of $1.19 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 15.53%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $10.14 billion, up 0.49% from the year-ago period.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $4.44 per share and a revenue of $40.01 billion, signifying shifts of -16.85% and -8.35%, respectively, from the last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Abbott is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Abbott is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 23.34. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.14 for its industry.

One should further note that ABT currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.59. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.5 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 141, this industry ranks in the bottom 45% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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