Abbott (ABT) Ascends But Remains Behind Market: Some Facts to Note

Abbott (ABT) ended the recent trading session at $114.76, demonstrating a +0.39% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.91%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.35%.Shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs witnessed a loss of 3.23% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its loss of 3.78% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.22%.The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Abbott in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.34, up 12.61% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.02 billion, up 7.64% from the prior-year quarter.For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $4.67 per share and a revenue of $42 billion, demonstrating changes of +5.18% and +4.71%, respectively, from the preceding year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. At present, Abbott boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Looking at valuation, Abbott is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.47. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 24.72.It's also important to note that ABT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.69. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Medical - Products industry stood at 2.3 at the close of the market yesterday.The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 130, positioning it in the bottom 49% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks