KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) PT Lowered to $925.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target cut by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $950.00 to $925.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.23% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.62.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $782.40 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $769.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $758.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA has a one year low of $443.71 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in KLA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after buying an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after buying an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.