KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James raised their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a neutral rating and set a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $806.24.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $59.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $696.17. 2,071,281 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,510. KLA has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $808.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $723.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Company Profile

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.