KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $632.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $701.57 and a 200 day moving average of $758.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.