Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Astrazeneca (AZN) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Astrazeneca (AZN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $53.58, moving -1.07% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.81%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.27%.

Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 3.65% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 1.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.06% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AZN as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.53, up 6% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.66 billion, up 3.92% from the year-ago period.

AZN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $26.27 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +15.43% and +7.75%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for AZN. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest 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. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.27% lower. AZN is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, AZN currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.78. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.59.

It is also worth noting that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61. 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. AZN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.05 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 128, which puts it in the top 50% 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.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) - free report >>

Published in