In the latest trading session, Lam Research (LRCX) closed at $420.30, marking a -0.07% move from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.22%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 5.91%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the semiconductor equipment maker had lost 9.18% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector’s loss of 3.63% and the S&P 500’s loss of 2.59% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Lam Research as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $9.96, up 16.76% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.08 billion, up 20.25% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $34.61 per share and revenue of $18.13 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.5% and +5.22%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Lam Research should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower. Lam Research is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Lam Research has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.15 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 13.73.
We can also see that LRCX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.72. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. LRCX’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.72 as of yesterday’s close.
The Semiconductor Equipment – Wafer Fabrication industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 20% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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