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Citrix Systems (CTXS) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Citrix Systems closed the most recent trading day at $145.46, moving +1.56% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.9% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 2.05%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.75%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from CTXS as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, CTXS is projected to report earnings of $1.23 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.65%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $775.08 million, up 3.52% from the year-ago period.

CTXS's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.60 per share and revenue of $3.17 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -1.58% and +5.27%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for CTXS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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 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 remained stagnant. CTXS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Digging into valuation, CTXS currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 25.59. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 32.36.

Investors should also note that CTXS has a PEG ratio of 3.09 right now. 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. The Computer - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.66 as of yesterday's close.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 141, which puts it in the bottom 45% 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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