KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $218.4071.

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on KLA from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, New Street Research raised their target price on shares of KLA from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $210.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.11. KLA has a one year low of $83.22 and a one year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This trade represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 978.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in KLA by 781.5% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,397,000 after acquiring an additional 318,520 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 180,279 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $265,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in KLA by 151.2% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $171,230,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 96,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,676,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quilter Plc disclosed a new $127.1 million position in KLA, adding to evidence of continued institutional demand for the stock. Fund Update: New $127.1M $KLAC stock position opened by Quilter Plc
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains generally favorable, with recent coverage highlighting AI-driven demand and advanced packaging growth as long-term tailwinds for KLA. KLA’s Q4 Earnings Loom: Buy, Sell or Hold the KLAC Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks are seeing a July pullback after a strong AI-led rally, driven by profit-taking and valuation concerns, which can weigh on KLAC even if the company-specific outlook remains solid. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position change, suggesting the recent move is being driven more by sector sentiment and earnings positioning than by a fresh bearish bet against the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent fund and insider activity was less supportive: several large holders reduced stakes in prior quarters, and KLA insiders have recorded only sales over the past six months, which can add to investor caution.

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.