KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) shares shot up 9.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $2,089.50 and last traded at $2,112.9510. 268,019 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,058,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,929.20.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on KLA from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,950.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of KLA from $1,770.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $1,750.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on KLA from $1,550.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,854.96.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KLA
KLA Trading Up 1.5%
KLA’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Friday, June 12th. The 10-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 7th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, June 11th.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.17 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.41 EPS. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is 26.04%.
KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at KLA
In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 4,512 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,794.00, for a total value of $8,094,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,895 shares in the company, valued at $136,155,630. This trade represents a 5.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.
KLA Company Profile
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.
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