Astrazeneca (AZN) ended the recent trading session at $85.31, demonstrating a +1.98% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.01% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.51%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.28%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 2.29% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 4.67% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.83%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.14, signifying a 9.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $14.86 billion, indicating a 9.57% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.58 per share and a revenue of $58.6 billion, indicating changes of +11.44% and +8.37%, respectively, from the former year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Astrazeneca is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
From a valuation perspective, Astrazeneca is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.26. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 19.42 of its industry.
Also, we should mention that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.54. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.82 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 74, putting it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.
