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Abbott (ABT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Abbott (ABT - Free Report) closed at $132.76 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.09% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.27%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.07%.

The maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs's stock has climbed by 0.81% in the past month, exceeding the Medical sector's gain of 0.73% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2.71%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Abbott in its upcoming release. On that day, Abbott is projected to report earnings of $1.3 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 7.44%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.42 billion, up 7.4% from the prior-year quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.15 per share and a revenue of $44.68 billion, indicating changes of +10.28% and +6.5%, respectively, from the former year.

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 business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Abbott presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Abbott is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.51. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.93.

Also, we should mention that ABT has a PEG ratio of 2.49. 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. Medical - Products stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.33 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 100, placing it within the top 41% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. 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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