KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $218.41 Average Price Target from Brokerages

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $223.70.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Scotiabank set a $200.00 price target on KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of KLA from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $182.82 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.78. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $83.22 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value 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 trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,937,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 96,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,676,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,618,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,128,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in KLA by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 14,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,048,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upgraded to Strong Buy: Zacks raised KLA to a Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing improving earnings prospects. KLAC was also included on Zacks’ momentum and new Strong Buy lists. KLA upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support strengthened: JPMorgan lifted its price target to $238, while Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and Cantor Fitzgerald assigned an Overweight rating. TD Cowen also maintained a $260 Buy-rated target, supported by accelerating growth and advanced packaging opportunities. JPMorgan raises KLA price target
• Positive Sentiment: AI and advanced packaging demand: KLA expects advanced-packaging revenue to rise more than 70% in 2026 as increasingly complex AI chips drive demand for inspection, metrology and yield-management equipment. Its latest quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. KLA advanced packaging growth
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable sector flows: Semiconductor ETFs attracted substantial new investor money this week as strong technology earnings fueled a chip-stock rally, creating a supportive backdrop for KLAC. Semiconductor ETFs draw cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry analysts argue semiconductor oversupply is unlikely before 2028 because the infrastructure required for excess capacity is not yet in place, supporting long-term equipment demand but not providing a company-specific catalyst. Semiconductor oversupply outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and higher guidance, KLAC faced pressure after results as investors focused on uncertainty around the outlook. Its roughly 50 forward earnings multiple also leaves the stock vulnerable if AI-related growth expectations moderate. KLA earnings and stock reaction

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.