KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $825.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $800.00 to $825.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $823.79.

KLA Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $16.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $758.81. 613,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,671. KLA has a 52 week low of $581.70 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $673.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $718.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 375 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 845 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,335,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,093,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.