Insider Selling: KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Sells $2,698,291.00 in Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLACGet Free Report) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Mary Beth Wilkinson also recently made the following trade(s):

  • On Tuesday, August 4th, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 4,295 shares of KLA stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.59, for a total value of $822,879.05.
  • On Wednesday, July 1st, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60.

KLA Trading Down 1.3%

KLAC traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $192.85. 10,009,418 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,671,193. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.92 billion, a PE ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLACGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The business’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, driven by renewed AI enthusiasm, strong memory demand and anticipation of earnings from chipmakers, may improve expectations for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
  • Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results beat expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to approximately $3.66 billion and earnings exceeded consensus. Management provided quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the company’s growth outlook.
  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a reported consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target above the recent trading range. Recent upgrades and higher targets reflect confidence in KLA’s exposure to advanced chips and AI-related manufacturing.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates increased trader interest in KLA, but the flow alone does not establish a reliable bullish or bearish direction.
  • Negative Sentiment: DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its KLA position by about 2.86 million shares, or roughly 90%, according to a June 30 13F filing. Large institutional reductions can pressure sentiment, although 13F data is delayed and may contain reporting or parsing inaccuracies. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Fund Update
  • Negative Sentiment: KLA’s valuation remains demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50. Coverage questioning whether the stock is fully valued raises the risk of further volatility if semiconductor spending or AI investment slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
  • Negative Sentiment: Two executives sold shares totaling approximately $1.1 million. The transactions were made to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, reducing their negative significance, but they add to a broader pattern of insider selling with no reported purchases in the past six months.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $200.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.70.

Get Our Latest Research Report on KLA

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in KLA by 781.5% during the second 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 buying an additional 318,520 shares during the period. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 600.7% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,522,000 after buying an additional 27,057 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co lifted its holdings in KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

(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.

Further Reading

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Receive News & Ratings for KLA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KLA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.