KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 31st, 2026

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $190.80, but opened at $177.63. KLA shares last traded at $180.1370, with a volume of 2,928,105 shares.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share, topping consensus estimates of $3.61 billion and $1.00, respectively. The company also issued higher guidance for the following quarter. KLAC Q4 Earnings Beat on AI Demand, Revenues Increase Y/Y
Positive Sentiment: Management expects advanced-packaging revenue to surge more than 70% in 2026. Growing AI-chip complexity is driving demand for KLA’s inspection, metrology and yield-management equipment, supporting expectations for further semiconductor capital-spending growth. KLA Rides on Strong Advanced Packaging Growth
Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained constructive: TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $260 price target, while Citi reiterated Buy with a $290 target. Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald also retained bullish ratings, with targets of $270 and $325. TD Cowen Maintains Buy Rating

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on KLA from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.10.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLAC

KLA Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.92 and a 200-day moving average of $181.50. The stock has a market cap of $235.56 billion, a PE ratio of 49.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.06%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total transaction of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 132,333 shares of company stock worth $29,547,170 over the last 90 days. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in KLA by 978.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,164,000 after purchasing an additional 779,317 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in KLA by 781.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,397,000 after purchasing an additional 318,520 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,618,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in KLA by 151.2% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $171,230,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in KLA by 848.3% during the 2nd quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 45,860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 41,024 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.