KLA (KLAC) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

In the latest close session, KLA (KLAC) was down 1.43% at $1,543.82. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.54% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.66%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.77%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had gained 3.95% outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 5% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.71%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of KLA in its upcoming release. On that day, KLA is projected to report earnings of $9.16 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 8.92%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.38 billion, up 10.49% from the prior-year quarter.

KLAC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $36.62 per share and revenue of $13.41 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +10.04% and +10.35%, respectively.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for KLA. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.12% higher. Currently, KLA is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that KLA has a Forward P/E ratio of 42.76 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 24.74.

We can additionally observe that KLAC currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.96. 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 currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.72 as of yesterday's close.

The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 32, putting it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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