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Apple (AAPL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) closed at $199.08, marking a +0.11% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.1%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.1%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 8.24% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.3% in that time.

AAPL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 30, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.37, down 13.19% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $57.60 billion, down 5.79% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $11.41 per share and revenue of $254.70 billion. These totals would mark changes of -4.2% and -4.1%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AAPL should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. 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. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.22% higher. AAPL is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Digging into valuation, AAPL currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.43. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.54.

It is also worth noting that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.03. 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 - Mini computers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.73 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 10, putting it in the top 4% 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.

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


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