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In the latest market close, KLA (KLAC) 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.