Astrazeneca (AZN) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $71.42 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.38% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.41%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.69%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.8%.

Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 8.7% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 4.61% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.97% in that time.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on November 12, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.02, showcasing a 17.24% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $13.07 billion, indicating a 13.77% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.05 per share and revenue of $52.57 billion, which would represent changes of +11.57% and +14.75%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. 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. 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% lower. As of now, Astrazeneca holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Astrazeneca is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 17.56. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 15.25 for its industry.

Investors should also note that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.32 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. The average PEG ratio for the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry stood at 1.52 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 58, putting it in the top 24% 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.

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