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LabCorp (LH) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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LabCorp (LH - Free Report) closed at $183.13 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.91% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.27%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.87%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the medical laboratory operator had lost 4.79% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 0.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.37% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from LH as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.76, up 64.14% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $3.64 billion, up 24.34% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $13.88 per share and revenue of $12.69 billion, which would represent changes of +22.61% and +9.87%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for LH. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% lower. LH is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note LH's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.07. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 34.24.
It is also worth noting that LH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.52. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Dental Supplies industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.99 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Dental Supplies 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 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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LabCorp (LH) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
LabCorp (LH - Free Report) closed at $183.13 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.91% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.27%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.87%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the medical laboratory operator had lost 4.79% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 0.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.37% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from LH as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.76, up 64.14% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $3.64 billion, up 24.34% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $13.88 per share and revenue of $12.69 billion, which would represent changes of +22.61% and +9.87%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for LH. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% lower. LH is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note LH's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.07. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 34.24.
It is also worth noting that LH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.52. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Dental Supplies industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.99 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Dental Supplies 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 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.