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Abbott (ABT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $104.41 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.52% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.38% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.11%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.54%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had lost 6.03% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 0.38% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.68% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Abbott as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Abbott to post earnings of $1.10 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 4.35%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.78 billion, down 6.09% from the year-ago period.

ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.40 per share and revenue of $39.77 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -17.6% and -8.89%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.05% higher. Abbott is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Abbott has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.61 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.5, so we one might conclude that Abbott is trading at a premium comparatively.

Investors should also note that ABT has a PEG ratio of 4.64 right now. 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. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.65 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, which puts it in the top 37% 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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