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Abbott (ABT) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts

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Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $103.09 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.12% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.48%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.56%.

The stock of maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs has fallen by 8.36% in the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 2.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.82%.

The upcoming earnings release of Abbott will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.43, up 10% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $12.91 billion, indicating a 13.52% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $5.52 per share and a revenue of $50.32 billion, signifying shifts of +7.18% and +13.51%, respectively, from the last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher within the past month. Abbott is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Abbott currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.46. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.16.

Meanwhile, ABT's PEG ratio is currently 1.89. 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. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.75 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 103, which puts it in the top 42% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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