Apple (AAPL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Apple (AAPL) closed at $222.73 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.94% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.55%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.42%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had lost 0.06% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 6.53%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.71%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AAPL as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be November 1, 2018. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.77, up 33.82% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $61.36 billion, up 16.71% from the prior-year quarter.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AAPL. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.97% higher within the past month. AAPL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Investors should also note AAPL's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 16.31. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.89, which means AAPL is trading at a discount to the group.
It is also worth noting that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.69. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Computer - Mini computers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.69 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Computer - Mini computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 54, putting it in the top 21% 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.
To follow AAPL in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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