KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy 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 $799.58.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $749.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $700.70 and its 200-day moving average is $695.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,221,230,000 after acquiring an additional 80,154 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.