KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $1,214.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $1,154.00 to $1,214.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on KLAC. Bank of America boosted their price target on KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $1,170.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on KLA from $1,010.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on KLA from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, New Street Research upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $980.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,243.81.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $1,208.08 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,143.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $980.01. KLA has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $1,284.47. The company has a market cap of $158.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total value of $12,997,089.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of KLA by 18.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,645,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,026,983,000 after purchasing an additional 251,339 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $133,209,000. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $95,217,000. 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.