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

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In the latest trading session, Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $119.87, marking a +0.88% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.34% gain on the day.

Coming into today, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had gained 10.12% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 2.22%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.71%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from ABT as it approaches its next earnings report date. This 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.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.42 per share and revenue of $39.62 billion, which would represent changes of +21.1% and +14.47%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for ABT. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% higher within the past month. ABT currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Looking at its valuation, ABT is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 26.88. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 29.24.

We can also see that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.3. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.33 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 181, putting it in the bottom 29% 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.

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


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