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How to buy Alcon stock (ALC)

Buy Alcon stock in 5 easy steps, view past price performance and learn what’s ahead for the company.

Alcon is a medical instruments & supplies business based in the US. Alcon shares (ALC) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Alcon employs 25,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $9.6 billion.

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Alcon stock price (NYSE: ALC)

Use our graph to track the performance of ALC stocks over time.

Alcon shares at a glance

Information last updated 2024-07-21.
Latest market close$91.84
52-week range$69.21 - $92.65
50-day moving average $89.49
200-day moving average $80.80
Wall St. target price$96.09
PE ratio 42.6588
Dividend yield $0.285 (0.3%)
Earnings per share (TTM) $2.11

Is it a good time to buy Alcon stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Alcon price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $91.84 from 2024-07-25

1 week (2024-07-19) 2.03%
1 month (2024-06-26) 2.41%
3 months (2024-04-26) 16.59%
6 months (2024-01-26) 20.84%
1 year (2023-07-26) 8.21%
2 years (2022-07-26) 23.18%
3 years (2021-07-26) 30.70%
5 years (2019-07-26) 55.17%

Is Alcon stock undervalued or overvalued?

Valuing Alcon stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Alcon's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Alcon's P/E ratio

Alcon's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 43x. In other words, Alcon shares trade at around 43x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Alcon's PEG ratio

Alcon's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.5934. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Alcon's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Alcon's EBITDA

Alcon's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $2.2 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Alcon's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Alcon financials

Revenue TTM $9.6 billion
Operating margin TTM 15.09%
Gross profit TTM $4.8 billion
Return on assets TTM 2.38%
Return on equity TTM 5.15%
Profit margin 10.96%
Book value $42.13
Market Capitalization $44.7 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Alcon share dividends

9%

Dividend payout ratio: 9.39% of net profits

Recently Alcon has paid out, on average, around 9.39% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.3% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Alcon shareholders could enjoy a 0.3% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Alcon's case, that would currently equate to about $0.285 per share.

While Alcon's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Alcon is investing more in its future growth.

Alcon's most recent dividend payout was on 15 May 2024. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 13 May 2024 (the "ex-dividend date").

Alcon share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Alcon's shares have ranged in value from as little as $69.2129 up to $92.65. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

ALC.US volatility(beta: 0.7)Avg. volatility(beta: 1.00)LowHigh

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Alcon's is 0.701. This would suggest that Alcon's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

Alcon overview

Alcon Inc. researches, develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells eye care products for eye care professionals and their patients worldwide. The company's Surgical segment offers equipment, instrumentation and diagnostics, intraocular lenses (IOLs), and other implantables; and consumables, including viscoelastics, surgical solutions, incisional instruments, surgical custom packs, and other products for surgical procedures. Its cataract products include Centurion vision system, LenSx laser system, ARGOS biometer, LuxOR surgical ophthalmic microscope, SMARTCATARACT health platform, NGENUITY 3D visualization system, Verion reference unit and Verion digital marker, and ORA system for intra-operative measurements; custom pak surgical procedure packs; vitreoretinal products comprising constellation vision systems, procedure packs, lasers and hand-held microsurgical instruments, and grieshaber and MIVS instruments, as well as scissors, forceps and micro-instruments, medical grade vitreous tamponades, and Hypervit vitrectomy probes; refractive surgery products, including WaveLight lasers and Contoura Vision used for LASIK treatment; EX-PRESS glaucoma filtration device; and implantable products, including AcrySof IQ products, such as monofocal IOLs and advanced technology IOLs for the correction of presbyopia and astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery. Its Vision Care segment provides daily disposable, reusable, and color-enhancing contact lenses; ocular health products, such as dry eye, glaucoma, contact lens care, and ocular allergies; and ocular vitamins and redness relievers. The company was formerly known as Alcon Universal S. A.

Frequently asked questions

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What percentage of Alcon is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 0.136% of Alcon shares are held by insiders and 72.917% by institutions.
How many people work for Alcon?
Latest data suggests 25,000 work at Alcon.
When does the fiscal year end for Alcon?
Alcon's fiscal year ends in December.
Where is Alcon based?
Alcon's address is: Chemin de Blandonnet 8, Geneva, Switzerland, 1214
What is Alcon's ISIN number?
Alcon's international securities identification number is: CH0432492467

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