KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $270.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $191.00 to $270.00 in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. New Street Research raised their target price on shares of KLA from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered KLA from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.80.

KLA Trading Up 0.9%

KLA stock traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,443,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,777,242. KLA has a one year low of $83.22 and a one year high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $302.43 billion, a PE ratio of 65.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.06 and a 200-day moving average of $173.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $8.48. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total transaction of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock worth $29,547,170 over the last quarter. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its holdings in KLA by 16.6% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 8,534 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised KLA’s price target from $191 to $270 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing a prolonged semiconductor equipment demand cycle and stronger structural growth prospects. AMAT, KLAC, LRCX Stocks: 5-Star Analyst Sharply Raises Price Targets – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Needham also lifted its price target on KLA from $200 to $270 and kept a Buy rating, reinforcing the view that the company still has upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Needham target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating and reaffirmed a $274 target, saying KLA continues to benefit from structural growth drivers in semiconductor manufacturing. KLA Maintained at Buy as Analyst Sees Structural Growth Drivers; Price Target Reaffirmed at $274
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analyst coverage from other outlets echoed the same theme: KLA is seen as a beneficiary of a durable AI- and semiconductor-driven capex cycle, which can support sentiment but does not change fundamentals overnight. Applied Materials, Lam, KLA take advantage of prolonged demand cycle: Stifel
• Negative Sentiment: One recent commentary suggested KLA may be getting close to fully valued after its AI-driven guidance lift, which could temper enthusiasm if investors worry the stock has already priced in much of the good news. KLA (KLAC) Following Its AI Driven Guidance Lift Looks Close To Fully Valued

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.