Key Points
- KLA EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares for approximately $2.70 million at an average price of $195.50, reducing her ownership by 38.43% to 22,110 shares. The sale follows additional transactions totaling nearly $4.93 million.
- KLA reported quarterly revenue of $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, and EPS of $1.05, exceeding analyst expectations. Management issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26.
- Despite recent insider selling and a valuation above 50 times earnings, analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $223.70 versus the stock’s reported $192.85 opening price.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 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 $880,532.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
KLA Stock Performance
KLA stock opened at $192.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $251.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.22 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $223.50 and a 200-day moving average of $182.69.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. KLA'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. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.70.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on KLA
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,380,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.
Key KLA News
Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook 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 exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
- Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
- Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
- Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.
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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