KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson Sells 13,802 Shares of Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mary Beth Wilkinson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 4th, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 4,295 shares of KLA stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.59, for a total transaction of $822,879.05.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $192.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $223.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.22 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in KLA by 781.5% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,397,000 after buying an additional 318,520 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its position in KLA by 600.7% in the 2nd quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,522,000 after buying an additional 27,057 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co lifted its stake in KLA by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.70.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.