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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) closed at $8.74 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.04% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.3%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.54%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.25%.

Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had lost 19.76% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 5.02%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.42%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Walgreens Boots Alliance in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.36, marking a 46.27% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $35.8 billion, up 1.08% from the year-ago period.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance. 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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 8.75% lower within the past month. As of now, Walgreens Boots Alliance holds a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Walgreens Boots Alliance has a Forward P/E ratio of 4.44 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 9.04.

Investors should also note that WBA has a PEG ratio of 0.89 right now. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.86.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 249, which puts it in the bottom 2% 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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