The latest trading session saw Abbott (ABT) ending at $118.77, denoting a -0.15% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.56% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.42%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.83%.

Coming into today, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had gained 4.92% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 2.27%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.11%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Abbott in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.34, showcasing a 12.61% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.03 billion, up 7.71% from the prior-year quarter.

ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.67 per share and revenue of $42.01 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.18% and +4.73%, respectively.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Abbott. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Abbott is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Abbott is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.47. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 26.43 for its industry.

Investors should also note that ABT has a PEG ratio of 2.8 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Medical - Products industry stood at 2.37 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 123, placing it within the top 49% of over 250 industries.