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Apple (AAPL) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Apple (AAPL - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $193.99, moving +1.73% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.39%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 3.12% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.41% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 3.16% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Apple as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 3, 2023. On that day, Apple is projected to report earnings of $1.20 per share, which would represent no growth from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $81.11 billion, down 2.23% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6 per share and revenue of $384.34 billion, which would represent changes of -1.8% and -2.53%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Apple. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% higher. Apple is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, Apple is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 31.8. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.8, which means Apple is trading at a premium to the group.

We can also see that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.54. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Computer - Mini computers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.45 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Computer - Mini computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 196, putting it in the bottom 23% 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.

To follow AAPL in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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