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CVS Health (CVS) closed the most recent trading day at $69.39, moving +1.15% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.22%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.06%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.52%.

The the stock of drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager has fallen by 13.14% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 2.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.66%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of CVS Health in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on May 1, 2024. On that day, CVS Health is projected to report earnings of $1.69 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 23.18%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $89.23 billion, up 4.63% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.32 per share and a revenue of $370.61 billion, representing changes of -4.81% and +3.59%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for CVS Health. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.11% downward. Currently, CVS Health is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

In the context of valuation, CVS Health is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.24. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 5.46 of its industry.

One should further note that CVS currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.91. 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. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 238, finds itself in the bottom 6% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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