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Pfizer (PFE) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) closed at $36.18, marking a +0.7% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.02%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.71%.

Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 4.92% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 2.71% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.39% in that time.

PFE will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, PFE is projected to report earnings of $0.69 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 8%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $12.27 billion, down 3.23% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.89 per share and revenue of $49.19 billion, which would represent changes of -2.03% and -4.95%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE. 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.17% lower. PFE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, PFE currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.42. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.63, which means PFE is trading at a discount to the group.

Meanwhile, PFE's PEG ratio is currently 2.9. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.02 as of yesterday's close.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 127, putting 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.


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