Apple (AAPL) closed the most recent trading day at $180.57, moving +1.55% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.62%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 5.66%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 2.46% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 9.07% and the S&P 500’s gain of 3.44% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Apple as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.18, down 1.67% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $81.17 billion, down 2.16% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.99 per share and revenue of $384.34 billion. These totals would mark changes of -1.96% and -2.53%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Apple. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher within the past month. Apple is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Apple currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 29.67. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 8.98, which means Apple is trading at a premium to the group.
It is also worth noting that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.37. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. Computer – Mini computers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.37 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Computer – Mini computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 194, which puts it in the bottom 24% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report