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KLA (KLAC) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

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KLA (KLAC - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $190.12, demonstrating a -2.79% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.38%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.44%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors had gained 8.27% outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.85% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.36%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of KLA in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.18, showcasing a 34.09% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.05 billion, indicating a 26.09% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.44 per share and a revenue of $17.88 billion, representing changes of +44.68% and +31.67%, respectively, from the prior year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for KLA. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.43% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. KLA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In the context of valuation, KLA is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 35.96. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.44.

Also, we should mention that KLAC has a PEG ratio of 1.73. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.27.

The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, which puts it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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