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Abbott (ABT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $115.93, marking a -1.09% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.13% gain on the day.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had gained 10.8% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's gain of 3.32% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.16% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from ABT as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 22, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.03, up 80.7% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $9.72 billion, up 32.63% from the year-ago period.

ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.42 per share and revenue of $39.62 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.1% and +14.47%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for ABT should also be noted by investors. 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.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 13.68% lower within the past month. ABT is holding a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now.

Looking at its valuation, ABT is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 26.52. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 29.89, which means ABT is trading at a discount to the group.

Meanwhile, ABT's PEG ratio is currently 2.27. 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 Medical - Products industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.35 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 180, which puts it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

To follow ABT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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