KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. TD Cowen currently has $1,800.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $1,300.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on KLA from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. New Street Research lifted their price target on KLA from $980.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,115.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $1,500.00 to $1,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,410.86.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $1,544.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $202.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,239.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,076.74. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,571.49.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.86%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded KLA to Overweight / Buy, citing WFE acceleration and demand for 2nm chip production; the note is a primary driver of buying interest. Why KLA Corp Stock Popped Today
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded KLA to Buy, adding to the cluster of bullish analyst actions that are lifting sentiment and price targets. TD Cowen Upgrades KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with an Outperform and assigned a $1,700 price target, signaling conviction from a major research shop. Bernstein initiates coverage of KLA (KLAC) with outperform recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America bumped its price target to $1,650, and Cantor Fitzgerald has also raised targets recently — analysts are lifting valuations across the board. Bank of America Boosts KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $1,650.00
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms (Cantor Fitzgerald, Bernstein, BofA and others) have pushed price targets into the $1,600–$1,800 range, reinforcing upside expectations and driving momentum. What Do Analysts Think About KLA Corporation (KLAC)?
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital initiated coverage with a Sector Perform rating (PT ~$1,550) — a coverage add but not a buy signal, so it has a muted impact versus the buy-side notes. RBC Capital initiates coverage of KLA (KLAC) with sector perform recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage summaries and data aggregators (QuiverQuant) show heavy institutional activity and a high median analyst target, which supports momentum but also concentrates expectations. $KLAC stock is up 7% today. Here’s what we see in our data.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor’s Business Daily noted KLA triggered a hold rule in its coverage—an operational datapoint for some traders but not a direct fundamental change. Stock Market Today: Dow Rises On Jobless Claims; Advanced Micro Up 5%, KLA Triggers Hold Rule (Live Coverage)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions: commentary (The Motley Fool) notes KLA is trading at ~45x trailing earnings despite ~13% EPS growth — a reminder that upside is tied to continued execution and revenue acceleration. Why KLA Corp Stock Popped Today
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been reported repeatedly over the last six months (multiple officers selling), which some investors view as a cautionary signal even if it can be routine. $KLAC stock is up 7% today. Here’s what we see in our data.

About KLA

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.