Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Moves -0.15%: What You Should Know

Microsoft (MSFT) closed the most recent trading day at $330.08, moving -0.15% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.18%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.34%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.92%.

Coming into today, shares of the software maker had lost 0.76% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 0.24%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.73%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Microsoft as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect Microsoft to post earnings of $2.28 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.32%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $50.32 billion, up 16.82% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.16 per share and revenue of $194.98 billion, which would represent changes of +14.93% and +16%, respectively, from the prior 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.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 0.04% lower within the past month. Microsoft currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Microsoft has a Forward P/E ratio of 36.11 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 36.11, so we one might conclude that Microsoft is trading at a no noticeable deviation comparatively.

We can also see that MSFT currently has a PEG ratio of 3. 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. MSFT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.92 as of yesterday's close.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 155, putting it in the bottom 39% 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.

To follow MSFT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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