KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) & Stardust Power (NASDAQ:SDST) Head to Head Analysis

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) and Stardust Power (NASDAQ:SDST) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares KLA and Stardust Power”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KLA	$12.52 billion	12.52	$4.06 billion	$31.85	37.47
Stardust Power	N/A	N/A	-$23.75 million	($5.60)	-0.74

KLA has higher revenue and earnings than Stardust Power. Stardust Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KLA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for KLA and Stardust Power, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KLA	0	14	12	0	2.46
Stardust Power	1	1	2	2	2.83

KLA presently has a consensus price target of $1,237.16, indicating a potential upside of 3.67%. Stardust Power has a consensus price target of $28.17, indicating a potential upside of 578.71%. Given Stardust Power’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Stardust Power is more favorable than KLA.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.7% of KLA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.8% of Stardust Power shares are held by institutional investors. 91.5% of KLA shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 55.3% of Stardust Power shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

KLA has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stardust Power has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares KLA and Stardust Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KLA	33.83%	113.10%	30.03%
Stardust Power	N/A	N/A	-268.49%

Summary

KLA beats Stardust Power on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection. The company offers inspection and review tools to identify, locate, characterize, review, and analyze defects on various surfaces of patterned and unpatterned wafers; metrology systems that are used to measure pattern dimensions, film thickness, film stress, layer-to-layer alignment, pattern placement, surface topography, and electro-optical properties for wafers; chemical process control equipment; wired and wireless sensor wafers and reticles; wafer defect inspection, review, and metrology systems; reticle inspection and metrology systems; and semiconductor software solutions that provide run-time process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification to accelerate yield learning rates and reduce production risk. It also provides etch, plasma dicing, deposition, and other wafer processing technologies and solutions for the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. In addition, the company offers direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, inkjet and additive printing, UV laser drilling, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering solutions for the PCB market; inspection and electrical testing systems to identify and classify defects, as well as systems to repair defects for the display market; and inspection and metrology systems for quality control and yield improvement in advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets. The company was formerly known as KLA-Tencor Corporation and changed its name to KLA Corporation in July 2019. KLA Corporation was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.

About Stardust Power

Stardust Power Inc. is a vertically-integrated lithium refinery that engages in producing battery-grade lithium. The company was founded in 2022 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.