Apple (AAPL) closed at $196.45 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.38% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.79%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.3%.
The maker of iPhones, iPads and other products's shares have seen a decrease of 5.79% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 7.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.55%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Apple in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.41, signifying a 0.71% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $88.31 billion, showing a 2.95% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $7.11 per share and revenue of $404.19 billion, indicating changes of +5.33% and +3.36%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Apple should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.15% lower. Apple presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Apple is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 28. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.06.
One should further note that AAPL currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.22. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer - Micro Computers industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.48.
The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, finds itself in the top 39% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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