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Microsoft (MSFT) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $208.25, moving -1.16% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.08%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.51%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.86%.

Heading into today, shares of the software maker had gained 11.86% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.89% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.3% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from MSFT as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect MSFT to post earnings of $1.40 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.19%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $36.59 billion, up 8.51% from the prior-year quarter.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MSFT. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.23% higher within the past month. MSFT currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, MSFT is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 33.78. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 31.77.

We can also see that MSFT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.42. 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 2.9 as of yesterday's close.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, putting it in the bottom 41% 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.


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