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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 $337.94, marking a +1.1% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.67%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.14%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 4.13% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.08% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.73% 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 $2.65 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.77%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $54.42 billion, up 8.57% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.90 per share and revenue of $233.8 billion, which would represent changes of +11.11% and +10.33%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. 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. 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Microsoft is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Microsoft's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 30.67. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 28.71.
Also, we should mention that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.46. 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. Computer - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.55 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, which puts it in the top 42% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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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 $337.94, marking a +1.1% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.67%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.14%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had gained 4.13% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.08% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.73% 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 $2.65 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.77%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $54.42 billion, up 8.57% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.90 per share and revenue of $233.8 billion, which would represent changes of +11.11% and +10.33%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. 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. 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Microsoft is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Microsoft's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 30.67. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 28.71.
Also, we should mention that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.46. 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. Computer - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.55 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, which puts it in the top 42% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.