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AbbVie (ABBV) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

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The most recent trading session ended with AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) standing at $179.66, reflecting a +0.66% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.57% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.83%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.39%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugmaker had gained 0.56% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's gain of 0.13% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 2.97% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of AbbVie will be of great interest to investors. On that day, AbbVie is projected to report earnings of $2.34 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 4.88%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.94 billion, down 2.31% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $11.16 per share and a revenue of $54.5 billion, indicating changes of +0.45% and +0.33%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for AbbVie. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% higher. AbbVie currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, AbbVie currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.99. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.16.

Also, we should mention that ABBV has a PEG ratio of 2.26. 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 had an average PEG ratio of 1.72 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 208, this industry ranks in the bottom 18% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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