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CVS Health (CVS) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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The latest trading session saw CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) ending at $79.24, denoting a -1.39% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.57% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.46%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.75%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager had gained 9.2% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.95% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.4% in that time.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of CVS Health in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.97, signifying a 1.01% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $90.32 billion, reflecting a 7.72% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for CVS Health. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% higher. At present, CVS Health boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, CVS Health currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.42. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.69.

Investors should also note that CVS has a PEG ratio of 2.23 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.89 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 195, positioning it in the bottom 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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