In the latest trading session, Pfizer (PFE) closed at $42.03, marking a -0.92% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.46% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.63%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugmaker had lost 1.39% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 0.39% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.08% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from PFE as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.78, up 1.3% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.86 billion, down 0.32% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.86 per share and revenue of $52.90 billion. These totals would mark changes of -4.67% and -1.38%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. PFE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that PFE has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.81 right now. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.28.
Meanwhile, PFE's PEG ratio is currently 2.43. 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 Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.15 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 28% of all 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.
To follow PFE in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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