KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
KLA Stock Performance
NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $192.85. The stock had a trading volume of 10,009,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,671,193. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.22 and a twelve month high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $251.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.
KLA Cuts Dividend
KLA News Roundup
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.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citic Securities raised their price target on KLA from $135.00 to $197.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.70.
View Our Latest Stock Report on KLAC
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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