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Apple (AAPL) Surpasses Market Returns: Some Facts Worth Knowing

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In the latest market close, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) reached $226.78, with a +0.25% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.01%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.09%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.08%.

Coming into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 1.54% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 1.03%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.21%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Apple in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.60, marking a 9.59% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $94.52 billion, up 5.61% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Apple should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. Apple currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Apple has a Forward P/E ratio of 29.96 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.26.

We can also see that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.36. 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. Computer - Micro Computers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.71 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 185, placing it within the bottom 27% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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