Abbott (ABT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Abbott (ABT) closed at $110.48 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.52% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.18%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had lost 7.1% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 4.62%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.43%.
ABT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, ABT is projected to report earnings of $1.06 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 85.96%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $9.85 billion, up 34.39% from the year-ago period.
ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.48 per share and revenue of $39.96 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +22.74% and +15.48%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for ABT should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
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 13.81% lower within the past month. ABT is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
Digging into valuation, ABT currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.51. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 27.54.
It is also worth noting that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.87. 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. ABT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.26 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 191, putting it in the bottom 25% 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.
To follow ABT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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