IBM (IBM) shares ended the last trading session 12.7% higher at $297.8. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 14.4% gain over the past four weeks.
The uptrend was largely buoyed by solid hybrid cloud demand. With a surge in traditional cloud-native workloads and associated applications, along with a rise in generative AI deployment, there is a radical expansion in the number of cloud workloads that enterprises are currently managing. This has resulted in heterogeneous, dynamic and complex infrastructure strategies, which have led firms to undertake a cloud-agnostic and interoperable approach to highly secure multi-cloud management, translating into a healthy demand for IBM hybrid cloud solutions.
This technology and consulting company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.95 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +5.4%. Revenues are expected to be $17.86 billion, up 5.2% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For IBM, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on IBM going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
IBM is part of the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry. Agilysys (AGYS), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 4.8% higher at $86.56. AGYS has returned 29% in the past month.
Agilysys' consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.44. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +33.3%. Agilysys currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>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
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Agilysys, Inc. (AGYS): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).