Weekly Investment Analysts’ Ratings Updates for KLA (KLAC)

KLA (NASDAQ: KLAC) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 7/26/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Argus from $800.00 to $875.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $800.00 to $950.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Evercore ISI from $800.00 to $900.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald. They now have a $950.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target lowered by analysts at Susquehanna from $730.00 to $680.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at TD Cowen from $700.00 to $760.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $765.00 to $800.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $735.00 to $838.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/24/2024 – KLA was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 7/16/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $800.00 to $950.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 7/16/2024 – KLA was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 7/16/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $760.00 to $875.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/15/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $760.00 to $980.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/1/2024 – KLA was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 6/21/2024 – KLA was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 6/17/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $860.00 to $950.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 6/7/2024 – KLA had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $750.00 to $875.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 6/5/2024 – KLA was upgraded by analysts at Barclays PLC from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating. They now have a $765.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $630.00.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $19.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $758.89. 1,062,119 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 906,456. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $809.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $719.50. The company has a market cap of $102.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,936,000 after purchasing an additional 211,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.