Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $53.07 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.06% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500’s daily loss of 1.76%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.45%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.99%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 5.46% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector’s loss of 0.92% and the S&P 500’s gain of 1.56% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from AZN as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, AZN is projected to report earnings of $0.53 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.66 billion, up 3.92% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $26.27 billion, which would represent changes of +15.43% and +7.75%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for AZN. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.27% lower. AZN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, AZN is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.52. This represents a premium compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 15.03.
Investors should also note that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.58 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.09 at yesterday’s closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 128, which puts it in the top 50% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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