Elevance Health (ELV) shares soared 3.1% in the last trading session to close at $422.04. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 3.4% gain over the past four weeks.
Elevance Health rallied for the sixth straight day, driven by optimism around its operations. The reaffirmed earnings forecast and medical enrollments boosted investor confidence, while multiple analyst updates with higher price targets added fuel to the momentum.
This health insurer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $10.58 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -0.6%. Revenues are expected to be $45.74 billion, up 8.2% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Elevance Health, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised marginally higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on ELV 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 >>>>
Elevance Health is a member of the Zacks Medical Services industry. One other stock in the same industry, Sotera Health Company (SHC), finished the last trading session 3.6% lower at $11.38. SHC has returned -14.9% over the past month.
Sotera Health's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -16.2% over the past month to $0.12. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -7.7%. Sotera Health currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sotera Health Company (SHC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
