Lam Research (LRCX) ended the recent trading session at $75.78, demonstrating a -1.25% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.76% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.48%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.64%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the semiconductor equipment maker had lost 5.32% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.26% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Lam Research in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1, indicating a 28.21% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.65 billion, up 22.62% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.73 per share and revenue of $17.72 billion. These totals would mark changes of +24.75% and +18.91%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Lam Research. 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 4.59% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, Lam Research possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Lam Research is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 20.58. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 23.99 for its industry.

Also, we should mention that LRCX has a PEG ratio of 1.26. 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. The average PEG ratio for the Electronics - Semiconductors industry stood at 1.66 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Electronics - Semiconductors industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 136, which puts it in the bottom 46% 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.

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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