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Align Technology (ALGN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) closed at $229.89, marking a +0.52% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.82%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.79%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.79%.

Coming into today, shares of the maker of the Invisalign tooth-straightening system had lost 0.97% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 5.35%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.94%.

ALGN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 29, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.16, down 2.52% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $512.12 million, up 21.55% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.87 per share and revenue of $1.95 billion, which would represent changes of +25.19% and +32.13%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for ALGN. 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. 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.

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 0.27% lower within the past month. ALGN is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

Digging into valuation, ALGN currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 46.94. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.63.

Investors should also note that ALGN has a PEG ratio of 1.99 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. Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.06 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, putting it in the bottom 42% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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