KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded by Oppenheimer to “Outperform” Rating

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, FinViz reports. The brokerage presently has a $850.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $750.00. Oppenheimer’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.67.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $691.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $93.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA has a one year low of $453.50 and a one year high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $749.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $763.63.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 1,579.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in KLA by 16.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Company Profile

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.