KLA’s (KLAC) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $950.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 24.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.90.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $7.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $763.03. The company had a trading volume of 138,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,438. KLA has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $808.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $713.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.52. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KLA will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $627,399,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.