KLA (KLAC) closed at $760.95 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.42% move from the prior day. The stock’s change was less than the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.53%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.93%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.22%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had gained 18.66% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 3.02% and the S&P 500’s gain of 2.69% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of KLA in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company’s earnings report is set to go public on January 30, 2025. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.73, up 25.49% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.93 billion, up 17.98% from the year-ago period.
KLAC’s full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $30.35 per share and revenue of $11.6 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +27.84% and +18.19%, respectively.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for KLA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.1% decrease. At present, KLA boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Investors should also note KLA’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 25.44. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.98, so one might conclude that KLA is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that KLAC has a PEG ratio of 1.66. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. Electronics – Miscellaneous Products stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.73 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Electronics – Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
Don’t forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
