Dow Today: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Leads The Day Higher, Alcoa (AA) Lags

The Dow component leading the way higher looks to be <b><a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/msft.html">Microsoft Corporation</a></b> (Nasdaq:<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/msft.html">MSFT</a>), which is sporting a two-cent gain to $30.78. Holding back the Dow today is <b><a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/aa.html">Alcoa</a></b> (NYSE:<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/quote/aa.html">AA</a>), which is lagging the broader Dow index with a 28-cent decline (-2.6%) bringing the stock to $10.36.
By TheStreet Wire ,

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

(

^DJI

) is trading down 101 points (-0.8%) at 12,789 as of Friday, Feb 10, 2012, 9:40 a.m. ET. During this time, 68 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 818.6 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 318 issues advancing vs. 2,324 declining with 86 unchanged.

The Dow component leading the way higher looks to be

Microsoft Corporation

(Nasdaq:

MSFT

), which is sporting a two-cent gain to $30.78. Volume for Microsoft Corporation currently sits at 3.3 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 55.1 million shares.

Microsoft Corporation has a market cap of $246.19 billion and is part of the

technology

sector and

computer software & services

industry. Shares are up 18.1% year to date as of Thursday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.6%.

Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports a range of software products and services for various computing devices worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 11.1, above the average computer software & services industry P/E ratio of 10.7 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Microsoft Corporation as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance, attractive valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

Holding back the Dow today is

Alcoa

(NYSE:

AA

), which is lagging the broader Dow index with a 28-cent decline (-2.6%) bringing the stock to $10.36. This single loss is lowering the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 2.12 points or roughly accounting for 2.1% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for Alcoa currently sits at 2.4 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 30.2 million shares.

Alcoa has a market cap of $10.93 billion and is part of the

basic materials

sector and

metals & mining

industry. Shares are up 23% year to date as of Thursday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 1.1%.

Alcoa, Inc. engages in the production and management of aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina. The company operates in four segments: Alumina, Primary Metals, Flat-Rolled Products, and Engineered Products and Solutions. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.8, below the average metals & mining industry P/E ratio of 18.7 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Alcoa as a

hold

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, unimpressive growth in net income and poor profit margins.

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