Key Points
- KLA CEO Richard Wallace sold 45,120 shares on June 11 at an average price of $221.34, totaling about $10.0 million. After the sale, he still held 713,830 shares, representing a 5.95% reduction in ownership.
- KLA has been performing strongly, with the stock up 12.9% and recent quarterly results beating estimates on both earnings and revenue. The company also reported 11.5% year-over-year revenue growth and issued upbeat Q4 2026 EPS guidance.
- Wall Street remains constructive on KLA, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy.” The company is also supported by a $7 billion share buyback authorization and ongoing optimism tied to AI-driven chip equipment demand.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) CEO Richard Wallace sold 45,120 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 713,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.
KLA Stock Up 12.9%
Shares of KLAC opened at $2,411.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $832.24 and a 12 month high of $2,431.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,843.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,547.29. The firm has a market cap of $315.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.26, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.50.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The business's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
KLA Cuts Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. KLA's payout ratio is 26.04%.
Trending Headlines about KLA
Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts say the AI boom is improving the outlook for wafer-fabrication equipment demand, which is lifting shares of KLA and other chip-equipment names. Applied Materials, KLA stocks gain as AI boom lifts chip equipment outlook
- Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight view on KLA, and multiple recent price-target hikes suggest Wall Street sees more upside after the company’s strong earnings and AI-focused guidance. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
- Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights KLA’s earnings beat, higher price targets, and continued demand for process-control tools as supportive catalysts for the stock. Why KLA Corporation Stock Edged Past the Broader Market Today
- Neutral Sentiment: Several articles point to KLA’s upcoming 10-for-1 stock split, which may be drawing extra attention but does not change the company’s fundamentals. Dear KLA Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 12
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 4,512 shares in a disclosed insider transaction, which can slightly pressure sentiment even though the sale was small relative to his remaining holdings. Richard P. Wallace insider sale filing
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 17.1% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on KLA from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank set a $200.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.44.
View Our Latest Report on KLAC
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.
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