KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded at TD Cowen

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage presently has a $1,800.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.04% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,100.00 to $1,500.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on KLA from $1,120.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,338.04.

KLA Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,428.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $187.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.45. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1,432.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,223.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,067.04.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.33 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total transaction of $12,997,089.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $32,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 125.0% in the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.