Astrazeneca (AZN) closed at $52.37 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.21% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.18%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical had gained 5.15% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's gain of 1.44% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 6.99% in that time.AZN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 30, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.71, up 33.96% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.26 billion, up 14.21% from the year-ago period.Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.61 per share and revenue of $32.11 billion. These totals would mark changes of +29.85% and +20.62%, respectively, from last year.It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AZN. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.57% higher. AZN is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Looking at its valuation, AZN is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 20.02. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.85.We can also see that AZN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.21. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.91 as of yesterday's close.The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 235, putting it in the bottom 8% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.To follow AZN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.