Why IBM (IBM) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

In the latest trading session, IBM (IBM) closed at $249.25, marking a +1.21% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.01%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.83%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.22%.

The technology and consulting company's shares have seen a decrease of 6.14% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 2.06% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.86%.

The upcoming earnings release of IBM will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.78, showcasing a 11.25% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $15.56 billion, up 7.04% from the prior-year quarter.

IBM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $12.37 per share and revenue of $71.24 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +6.73% and +5.49%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for IBM. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. IBM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, IBM is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.92. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 20.58, so one might conclude that IBM is trading at a discount comparatively.

Also, we should mention that IBM has a PEG ratio of 2.47. 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. The average PEG ratio for the Computer - Integrated Systems industry stood at 0.76 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 30, which puts it in the top 13% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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