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Apple (AAPL) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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In the latest close session, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) was down 1.04% at $270.83. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.64%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.47%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.52%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 0.8% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.98% and the S&P 500's gain of 3%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Apple in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.65, signifying a 10.42% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $137.51 billion, up 10.62% from the year-ago period.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $8.11 per share and a revenue of $451.64 billion, signifying shifts of +8.71% and +8.53%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Apple. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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. Over the past month, there's been a 0.35% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Apple is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Apple has a Forward P/E ratio of 33.73 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.74.

It's also important to note that AAPL currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.56. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Computer - Micro Computers industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.67.

The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 199, which puts it in the bottom 20% of all 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.

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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