KLA’s (KLAC) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their neutral rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $800.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for KLA’s FY2025 earnings at $32.47 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.74.

KLA Trading Down 3.8 %

KLAC stock opened at $676.31 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $679.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in KLA by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,326,000 after acquiring an additional 8,028 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.