Back to top

Image: Bigstock

IBM (IBM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, IBM (IBM - Free Report) closed at $140.47, marking a +0.82% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.45%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.75%.

Heading into today, shares of the technology and consulting company had gained 2.49% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.19% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.84% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from IBM as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.06, down 0.65% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $19.11 billion, down 4.45% from the year-ago period.

IBM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $13.89 per share and revenue of $76.82 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +0.58% and -3.49%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for IBM. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 remained stagnant. IBM currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, IBM is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.03. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.6, which means IBM is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that IBM has a PEG ratio of 2.53. 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 - Integrated Systems stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.53 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, which puts it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) - free report >>

Published in