Microsoft (MSFT) closed the most recent trading day at $393.12, moving +0.48% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.77%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.42%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.28%.

Shares of the software maker witnessed a loss of 4.15% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its loss of 9.47% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.73%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Microsoft in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.20, up 8.84% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $68.37 billion, up 10.52% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $13.08 per share and revenue of $276.15 billion. These totals would mark changes of +10.85% and +12.66%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Microsoft. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Microsoft is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

With respect to valuation, Microsoft is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 29.91. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 25.18.

One should further note that MSFT currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.07. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer - Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.15.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 140, putting it in the bottom 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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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Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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