KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Down 5% – Should You Sell?

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s stock price was down 5% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $165.20 and last traded at $165.74. 13,100,458 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 11,097,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.26.

KLA Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $186.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at $154,970,908.80. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.8% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 781.8% in the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.