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Why Medpace (MEDP) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

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In the latest close session, Medpace (MEDP - Free Report) was up +1.18% at $496.41. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.47%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.11%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.94%.

Shares of the provider of outsourced clinical development services have appreciated by 7.16% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's gain of 5.49%, and the S&P 500's gain of 2.32%.

The upcoming earnings release of Medpace will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.49, reflecting a 15.95% increase from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $640.76 million, up 20.14% from the year-ago period.

MEDP's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $13.99 per share and revenue of $2.46 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +10.77% and +16.83%, respectively.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Medpace. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.

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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Medpace is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at valuation, Medpace is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 35.07. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 16.7 for its industry.

One should further note that MEDP currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.09. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Medical Services industry stood at 1.5 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Medical Services industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 148, placing it within the bottom 41% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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