Abbott (ABT) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

In the latest trading session, Abbott (ABT) closed at $112.65, marking a +2.82% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.83%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.38%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had lost 1.15% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 3.46% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.65%.

The upcoming earnings release of Abbott will be of great interest to investors. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.15, signifying a 5.50% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $11.03 billion, indicating a 6.53% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $5.68 per share and revenue of $47.74 billion, indicating changes of +10.29% and +7.7%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Abbott. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

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, 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 0.01% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Abbott is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Abbott is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.3. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 19.33.

It is also worth noting that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.74. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Medical - Products industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.68.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 148, which puts it in the bottom 40% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.