In the latest market close, KLA (KLAC – Free Report) reached $633.64, with a -1.73% movement compared to the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 1.07% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.19%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had lost 0.34% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 4.8% and was narrower than the S&P 500’s loss of 0.36% in that time.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of KLA in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.73, up 25.49% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.93 billion, indicating a 17.98% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $30.37 per share and revenue of $11.6 billion, which would represent changes of +27.93% and +18.19%, respectively, from the prior year.
It’s also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for KLA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 moved 1.72% lower. KLA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, KLA currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 21.23. This denotes a premium relative to the industry’s average Forward P/E of 19.92.
One should further note that KLAC currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.4. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company’s anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Electronics – Miscellaneous Products industry stood at 2.01 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Electronics – Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow KLAC in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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