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Abbott (ABT) Stock Moves -0.45%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $106.32, marking a -0.45% move from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.8%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.94%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had lost 3.62% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 4.79% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.72% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from ABT as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect ABT to post earnings of $1.36 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 43.16%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $9.92 billion, up 19.3% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.57 per share and revenue of $33.84 billion. These totals would mark changes of +10.19% and +6.08%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for ABT. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. 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 0.02% higher. ABT currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note ABT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 29.95. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 36.65.

Investors should also note that ABT has a PEG ratio of 2.43 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. Medical - Products stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.48 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 129, putting it in the top 50% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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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