In the latest market close, Apple (AAPL) reached $239.07, with a +1.59% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.55%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.52%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.7%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had gained 0.9% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 8.51% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.56% in that time.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Apple in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.61, showcasing a 5.23% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $93.67 billion, showing a 3.22% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.27 per share and revenue of $406.63 billion, which would represent changes of +7.7% and +3.99%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Apple. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 past month, there's been a 0.1% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Apple is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Apple is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 32.36. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.06, which means Apple is trading at a premium to the group.

We can additionally observe that AAPL currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.34. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer - Micro Computers industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.58.

The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 36, this industry ranks in the top 15% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research