Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
The latest trading session saw Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) ending at $154.86, denoting a -1.82% adjustment from its last day's close. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.2% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.65%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.79%.
The internet search leader's shares have seen an increase of 11.72% over the last month, surpassing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.51% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.85%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Alphabet in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.49, up 27.35% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $66 billion, up 13.66% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.78 per share and revenue of $290.4 billion, which would represent changes of +16.9% and +13.21%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Alphabet. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% higher. Alphabet presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Alphabet is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.27. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 23.49.
It is also worth noting that GOOGL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.46. 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. The average PEG ratio for the Internet - Services industry stood at 1.78 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 80, finds itself in the top 32% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.
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