KLA (KLAC) closed at $1,071.25 in the latest trading session, marking a +2.53% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.44%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.7%.
Shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors have appreciated by 20.05% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 9.59%, and the S&P 500's gain of 4.03%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of KLA in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $8.47, indicating a 15.55% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.16 billion, indicating a 11.09% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $34.37 per share and revenue of $12.71 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.28% and +4.56%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for KLA. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. KLA presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, KLA is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.4. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.33.
Investors should also note that KLAC has a PEG ratio of 3.56 right now. 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 Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.88 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, placing it within the top 38% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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KLA Corporation (KLAC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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