KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $1,800.00 at Wolfe Research

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective raised by Wolfe Research from $1,500.00 to $1,800.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on KLA from $1,250.00 to $1,560.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on KLA from $1,010.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,350.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citic Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $1,350.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,477.64.

KLA Trading Up 2.0%

KLAC stock opened at $1,543.03 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,288.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.88. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1,581.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.47 by $0.34. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 23.86%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total value of $12,997,089.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,937,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 95.0% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

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.