KLA (KLAC) ended the recent trading session at $871.16, demonstrating a -2.45% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.03% for the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.11%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.13%.
The maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors's stock has climbed by 13% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.6%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of KLA in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $8.53, indicating a 29.24% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.08 billion, up 19.74% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $32.46 per share and revenue of $12.05 billion, indicating changes of +36.73% and +22.77%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for KLA. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.04% upward. KLA is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
Looking at its valuation, KLA is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 27.51. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.69, which means KLA is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that KLAC has a PEG ratio of 1.7. 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. Electronics - Miscellaneous Products stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.69 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 143, placing it within the bottom 42% 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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming 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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