In the latest trading session, Apple (AAPL) closed at $235.87, marking a -0.14% move from the previous day. This change traded in line with S&P 500. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.11%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.1%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 5.88% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 0.36%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.91%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AAPL as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be October 30, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.83, down 2.75% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $62.57 billion, down 0.52% from the prior-year quarter.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AAPL should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.25% lower. AAPL currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at its valuation, AAPL is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.17. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.09, which means AAPL is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that AAPL has a PEG ratio of 2.08. 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. AAPL's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.08 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 192, putting it in the bottom 25% 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.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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