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Microsoft (MSFT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $315.41, marking a +1.52% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.23% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.44%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 3.99% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.63% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.69% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Microsoft to post earnings of $2.18 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.79%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $48.97 billion, up 17.41% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.31 per share and revenue of $198.69 billion, which would represent changes of +16.81% and +18.2%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 0.09% lower. Microsoft is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Digging into valuation, Microsoft currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 33.37. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 29.97, so we one might conclude that Microsoft is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, MSFT's PEG ratio is currently 2.67. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.67 at yesterday's closing price.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, which puts it in the bottom 31% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Microsoft (MSFT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $315.41, marking a +1.52% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.23% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.44%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 3.99% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.63% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.69% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Microsoft to post earnings of $2.18 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.79%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $48.97 billion, up 17.41% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.31 per share and revenue of $198.69 billion, which would represent changes of +16.81% and +18.2%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 0.09% lower. Microsoft is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Digging into valuation, Microsoft currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 33.37. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 29.97, so we one might conclude that Microsoft is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, MSFT's PEG ratio is currently 2.67. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.67 at yesterday's closing price.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, which puts it in the bottom 31% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.