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Anthem (ANTM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Anthem closed at $303.04 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.79% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.5%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.54%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.76%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the health insurer had lost 0.88% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 2.18% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.53% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from ANTM as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, ANTM is projected to report earnings of $5.83 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 7.76%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $24.25 billion, up 8.52% from the prior-year quarter.

ANTM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $19.13 per share and revenue of $99.98 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +20.39% and +9.45%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for ANTM. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% higher. ANTM is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

In terms of valuation, ANTM is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.96. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.98.

Investors should also note that ANTM has a PEG ratio of 1.09 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ANTM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.14 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 26, putting it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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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