In the latest trading session, Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $166.68, marking a +2.87% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.33%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 1.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.08%.
The stock of pharmaceutical has fallen by 0.53% in the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.15% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.41%.
The upcoming earnings release of Astrazeneca will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on October 30, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.16, signifying a 9.24% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $16.09 billion, showing a 5.95% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.38 per share and a revenue of $63.21 billion, representing changes of +2.4% and +7.62%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 2.39% higher. At present, Astrazeneca boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Astrazeneca is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.28. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 25.3, so one might conclude that Astrazeneca is trading at a discount comparatively.
Also, we should mention that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.37. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.76 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 153, this industry ranks in the bottom 38% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).