The latest trading session saw Microsoft (MSFT) ending at $396.89, denoting a -1.03% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.78%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.99%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 2.61%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had lost 2.97% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 5.78% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.48% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Microsoft will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.20, up 8.84% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $68.37 billion, up 10.52% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $13.08 per share and a revenue of $276.19 billion, demonstrating changes of +10.85% and +12.67%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Microsoft. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.09% higher. Currently, Microsoft is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Microsoft is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.66. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 27.87 of its industry.
Meanwhile, MSFT's PEG ratio is currently 2.13. 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 Computer - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.15 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, finds itself in the top 34% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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