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Microsoft (MSFT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $285.30 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.7% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.61%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.45%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the software maker had lost 6.23% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 6.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.42% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be April 26, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.18, up 11.79% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $48.96 billion, up 17.4% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.31 per share and revenue of $198.69 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.81% and +18.2%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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 has moved 0.1% lower. Microsoft is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Microsoft is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.13. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 29.07, which means Microsoft is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.42. 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. The Computer - Software was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.39 at yesterday's closing price.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 159, putting it in the bottom 38% 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
Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $285.30 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.7% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.61%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.45%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the software maker had lost 6.23% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 6.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.42% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be April 26, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.18, up 11.79% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $48.96 billion, up 17.4% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.31 per share and revenue of $198.69 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.81% and +18.2%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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 has moved 0.1% lower. Microsoft is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Microsoft is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.13. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 29.07, which means Microsoft is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.42. 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. The Computer - Software was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.39 at yesterday's closing price.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 159, putting it in the bottom 38% 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.