Square (SQ) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Square (SQ) closed the most recent trading day at $222.88, moving +1.48% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.3% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.57%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.09%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the mobile payments services provider had lost 3.79% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.16% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.43% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from SQ as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, SQ is projected to report earnings of $0.24 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.35%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.10 billion, up 136.24% from the prior-year quarter.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for SQ. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 24.19% higher. SQ is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Digging into valuation, SQ currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 196.46. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 85.48.
It is also worth noting that SQ currently has a PEG ratio of 5.96. 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. Internet - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 4.43 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, putting it in the bottom 29% 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 SQ in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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
Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
