KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Falls 2.8% – What’s Next?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Oct 16th, 2026

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.8% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $177.39 and last traded at $178.81. Approximately 14,431,082 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 11,073,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered KLA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.26.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on KLA

KLA Trading Down 3.9%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.73 billion, a PE ratio of 45.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service increased its position in KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in KLA by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,486,000 after buying an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.