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Medpace (MEDP) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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In the latest close session, Medpace (MEDP - Free Report) was down 1.3% at $445.59. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.45%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.03%.

Shares of the provider of outsourced clinical development services witnessed a gain of 8.26% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its gain of 1.01%, and the S&P 500's gain of 5.25%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Medpace in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.08, showcasing a 31.61% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $678.51 million, indicating a 12.47% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $17.04 per share and a revenue of $2.79 billion, signifying shifts of +11.52% and +10.32%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Medpace. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Medpace is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Medpace is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 26.5. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 15.1 for its industry.

Also, we should mention that MEDP has a PEG ratio of 2.29. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Medical Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.39.

The Medical Services industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 96, finds itself in the top 40% echelons 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 MEDP in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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