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Astrazeneca (AZN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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Astrazeneca (AZN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $74.13, moving +0.38% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.69%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 8.94%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 1.52% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 1.27%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.41%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Astrazeneca as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Astrazeneca is projected to report earnings of $0.99 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 15.12%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.29 billion, up 4.81% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.69 per share and revenue of $45.9 billion, which would represent changes of +10.81% and +3.49%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower. Astrazeneca is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Astrazeneca's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.02. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.88.
Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.47. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.67 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 82, which puts it in the top 33% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Astrazeneca (AZN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Astrazeneca (AZN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $74.13, moving +0.38% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.69%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 8.94%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 1.52% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 1.27%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.41%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Astrazeneca as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Astrazeneca is projected to report earnings of $0.99 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 15.12%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.29 billion, up 4.81% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.69 per share and revenue of $45.9 billion, which would represent changes of +10.81% and +3.49%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower. Astrazeneca is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Astrazeneca's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.02. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.88.
Meanwhile, AZN's PEG ratio is currently 1.47. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.67 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 82, which puts it in the top 33% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.