KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to “Hold”

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $790.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.38% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Securities increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.58.

KLA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $690.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $689.04. The company has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.