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Microsoft (MSFT) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $332.47 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.19% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.67% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.93%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 9.29%.

Coming into today, shares of the software maker had lost 0.01% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 1.84%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.65%.

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 $2.55, up 14.35% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $55.35 billion, up 6.73% from the year-ago period.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% lower. Microsoft currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Microsoft is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 30.79. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 27.53.

Also, we should mention that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.64. 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 - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.37 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, putting it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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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