The latest trading session saw Lam Research (LRCX) ending at $76.77, denoting a +0.79% adjustment from its last day's close. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.59% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.39%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.63%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the semiconductor equipment maker had lost 5.65% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 3.43% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.42% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Lam Research in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1, reflecting a 28.21% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $4.65 billion, indicating a 22.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

LRCX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.73 per share and revenue of $17.72 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +24.75% and +18.91%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Lam Research should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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 moved 6.36% higher. As of now, Lam Research holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Lam Research has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.43 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 25.22, which means Lam Research is trading at a discount to the group.

We can also see that LRCX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.25. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Electronics - Semiconductors industry stood at 1.63 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Electronics - Semiconductors industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 134, putting it in the bottom 47% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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