Alexion Pharmaceuticals shares rallied 3.9% in the last trading session to close at $163.68. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 1.3% gain over the past four weeks.

Shares gained as AstraZeneca’s proposed acquisition of Alexion has been cleared by the US Federal Trade Commission review after the conclusion of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

Price and Consensus

This drugmaker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.36 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +4.4%. Revenues are expected to be $1.57 billion, up 8.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Alexion, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.7% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on ALXN going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>