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Alphabet (GOOG) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Alphabet (GOOG - Free Report) closed at $1,217.86, marking a +1.1% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.66%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.03%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.46%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the internet search leader had gained 1.61% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.97% in that time.

GOOG will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 29, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $10.51, up 5.84% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $29.95 billion, up 20.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $47.35 per share and revenue of $131.92 billion. These totals would mark changes of +8.35% and +19.82%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for GOOG. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

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.

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, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.29% lower. GOOG is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note GOOG's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 25.44. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 25.52, which means GOOG is trading at a discount to the group.

It is also worth noting that GOOG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.42. 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. Internet - Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.32 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 196, which puts it in the bottom 24% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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