Astrazeneca (AZN) Stock Moves -0.45%: What You Should Know

Astrazeneca (AZN) ended the recent trading session at $72.72, demonstrating a -0.45% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 1.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.31%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.04%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical had lost 3.12% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 2.99% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.91% in that time.The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Astrazeneca in its forthcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect Astrazeneca to post earnings of $1.10 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 6.8%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $13.6 billion, indicating a 7.3% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.49 per share and a revenue of $57.14 billion, representing changes of +9.25% and +5.67%, respectively, from the prior year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.55% downward. Right now, Astrazeneca possesses a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).From a valuation perspective, Astrazeneca is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.27. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 19.21.Investors should also note that AZN has a PEG ratio of 1.41 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.49.The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 76, this industry ranks in the top 31% of all industries, numbering over 250.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.Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks