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Microsoft (MSFT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $244.49 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.92% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.46%.
Heading into today, shares of the software maker had lost 7.36% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 8.38% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 6.69% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.29, up 5.53% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $52.39 billion, up 13.51% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.28 per share and revenue of $198.57 billion, which would represent changes of +16.44% and +18.13%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
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, 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 0.5% lower. Microsoft is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Microsoft has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.12 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 26.12, which means Microsoft is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.
Meanwhile, MSFT's PEG ratio is currently 2.19. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MSFT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.09 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 146, putting it in the bottom 43% 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.
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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Microsoft (MSFT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $244.49 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.92% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.46%.
Heading into today, shares of the software maker had lost 7.36% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 8.38% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 6.69% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.29, up 5.53% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $52.39 billion, up 13.51% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.28 per share and revenue of $198.57 billion, which would represent changes of +16.44% and +18.13%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
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, 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 0.5% lower. Microsoft is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Microsoft has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.12 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 26.12, which means Microsoft is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.
Meanwhile, MSFT's PEG ratio is currently 2.19. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MSFT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.09 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 146, putting it in the bottom 43% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.