New Street Research Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $1,230.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at New Street Research from $980.00 to $1,230.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. New Street Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on KLA from $1,075.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $1,135.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $1,154.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,260.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,228.29.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $1,208.74 on Friday. KLA has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $1,284.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,037.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $902.87. The stock has a market cap of $159.17 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. KLA had a return on equity of 113.10% and a net margin of 33.83%.The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,128,418. This trade represents a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in KLA by 4,100.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 86.65% of the stock is 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.