Astrazeneca (AZN) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know
Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $164.52 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.59% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.19% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.59%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05%.
The pharmaceutical's stock has dropped by 3.45% in the past month, falling short of the Medical sector's gain of 6.06% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Astrazeneca in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on July 27, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.5, up 14.68% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $15.31 billion, showing a 5.9% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $10.22 per share and a revenue of $63.15 billion, signifying shifts of +11.57% and +7.51%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Astrazeneca. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 past month, there's been a 0.29% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Astrazeneca boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Astrazeneca currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.52. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.8, so one might conclude that Astrazeneca is trading at a discount comparatively.
It is also worth noting that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.38. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.56.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, placing it within the top 40% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).