Apple (AAPL – Free Report) closed at $131.01 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.24% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.71%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.56%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.95%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 4.57% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 0.85%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.17%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AAPL as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.39, up 11.2% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $102.61 billion, up 11.75% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.03 per share and revenue of $320.73 billion. These totals would mark changes of +22.87% and +16.83%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for AAPL. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.
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 0.29% higher within the past month. AAPL is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that AAPL has a Forward P/E ratio of 32.15 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 21.43, which means AAPL is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that AAPL has a PEG ratio of 2.8 right now. 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. AAPL’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.62 as of yesterday’s close.
The Computer – Mini computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 36, putting it in the top 15% 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.
To follow AAPL in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
