The U.S earnings season starts the week with a bang, and big pharma's Johnson & Johnson will kick things off for the healthcare sector, followed by another much-anticipated coronavirus stock.
Abbott Laboratories is the other healthcare sector stock-taking the fight to the COVID-19 pandemic and has shipped over 20 million COVID-19 tests which should also support its growth projections.
Click logo to view Abbott Laboratories (ABT) shares.
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Fundamentals
Abbott Labs Q1 earnings released in April impressed with a beat on revenue and surpassed analysts’ expectations on earnings per share. This week’s the Q2 numbers will be watched closely to see if the company’s financial position is still robust enough.
The company is very focused on strong cash flow generation and a leader in the niche COVID-19 testing arena which should support growth. The company has an exceptional track record of 48 consecutive years of dividend increases which makes it very attractive to own over the long term.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) share overview:
- Sector: Healthcare
- Market Cap of $164.54 billion.
- Dividend Yield: 1.54 %
- Price/Earnings (LTM): 47x
- Price/Book: 5.6x
- Next Earnings: 16th of July 2020.
- 52 Week Range low of $62.82 and $98.00 per share high.
Besides the stable dividend growth, Abbott Labs recent FDA approvals are also widely expected to be a massive win for the company contributing to the 5-year 10% growth outlook analysts have on the stock. The recent FDA approvals include the FreeStyle Libre 2 integrated continuous glucose monitoring (iCGM) system and the next-gen defibrillators.
Chart Life
We need to see a close above the $95.95 per share resistance level which could support a move higher if earnings impress this week. The price action is above the 50-day simple moving average of the price (blue line), which supports the move higher. The $87.00 per share support level remains a support level of interest, and a move lower from there could target levels last seen in April.
Short interest on Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is only around 0.6%, while the median analyst expectations are $100.53 per share (red line). Also keep in mind the stock will be trading ex-div today the 14th of July which should see the share price move lower by the dividend amount of $0.36.
Informed decisions
The healthcare sector continues to impress even as new cases of the COVID-19 pandemic reach unprecedented levels. This sector might continue its current trajectory if company earnings meet and surpass the current market and analyst expectations.
Portfolio particulars
- Portfolio Hold (Current)*
- Portfolio Buy opportunity: close above $95.95 per share**
- WhatsTheBeef long term target price:$103.00 per share.
Know your company: Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
- Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company which was founded by Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888.
- Among its popular products across the medical devices, diagnostics, and nutrition product divisions are Pedialyte, Similac, Ensure, Glucerna, ZonePerfect, FreeStyle Libre, i-STAT and MitraClip.
Click logo to view Abbott Laboratories (ABT) shares.
on EasyEquities
Read other noteworthy research on Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
Source – EasyResearch, Abbott Laboratories, Koyfin, The Motley Fool, Zacks Investment Research, Seeking Alpha, Wikipedia.
*Portfolio Hold (Current) refers to investors who already hold the stock within their portfolio.
**Portfolio Buy opportunity refers to Technical level crossed, which might imply that the markets behavior would support the outlook and Close above refers to a share price close above a Technical Resistance level.
Take note that all stock data was taken on the 13th of July 2020 during the U.S stock market open.
READ:
How to use EasyFX to invest in US stocks
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Barry is a market analyst with GT247, with a wealth of experience in the investment markets. Now in his tenth year in the markets, Barry "The Beef" Dumas brings a combination of technical analysis and fundamental insights to the table.
