KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $221.26 According to Brokerages

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $221.26.

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,322,505. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last quarter. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in KLA by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,486,000 after buying an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock traded down $8.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.74. The stock had a trading volume of 13,108,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,441,942. 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 has a twelve month low of $107.20 and a twelve month high of $307.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $186.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.