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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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In the latest market close, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) reached $21.81, with a -1.67% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.18%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.87%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.6%.

Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had gained 0.64% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 6.82% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.17% in that time.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Walgreens Boots Alliance in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on October 12, 2023. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.68, showcasing a 15% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $34.56 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.34% lower. Walgreens Boots Alliance presently features a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Looking at valuation, Walgreens Boots Alliance is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.97. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 5.97.

We can additionally observe that WBA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.19. 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. WBA's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.5 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 231, positioning it in the bottom 9% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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