KLA (KLAC) ended the recent trading session at $599.51, demonstrating a -0.85% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 1.57% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.84%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.15%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had lost 10.87% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 16.01%, while the S&P 500 lost 12.16%.
The upcoming earnings release of KLA will be of great interest to investors. On that day, KLA is projected to report earnings of $8.06 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 53.23%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $3 billion, showing a 27.28% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $31.57 per share and a revenue of $11.9 billion, demonstrating changes of +32.98% and +21.29%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for KLA. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.05% lower. KLA presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, KLA is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.15. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.3.
Meanwhile, KLAC's PEG ratio is currently 1.22. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.35.
The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 139, positioning it in the bottom 44% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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KLA Corporation (KLAC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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