Apple (AAPL) closed the most recent trading day at $144.47, moving -0.44% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 0.35% gain on the day.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 13.95% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 5.62% and the S&P 500’s gain of 3.64% in that time.
AAPL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 27, 2021. On that day, AAPL is projected to report earnings of $1 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 53.85%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $72.75 billion, up 21.88% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.18 per share and revenue of $356.27 billion, which would represent changes of +57.93% and +29.78%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AAPL. 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.19% higher. AAPL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, AAPL is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 27.99. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.75, which means AAPL is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that AAPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.24. 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. AAPL’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.28 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 21, putting it in the top 9% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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