KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Down 9.7% – Here’s Why

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s share price dropped 9.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $1,540.00 and last traded at $1,521.86. Approximately 244,353 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,127,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,684.71.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA beat expectations for Q2: revenue of $3.30B and non‑GAAP EPS $8.85, topping consensus and showing year‑over‑year growth. Reuters: KLA Corp beats quarterly results
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and capital returns: management reported robust operating cash flow and meaningful share repurchases/dividends that support shareholder returns. PR Newswire: KLA fiscal Q2 results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains, with recent price‑target lifts and buy/overweight calls (Needham, Berenberg, RBC), leaving upside per some models. The Fly: RBC raises KLA PT MarketScreener: Berenberg raises PT Benzinga: Needham reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management sees advanced‑packaging revenue rising mid‑to‑high teens in 2026, driven by AI demand for process‑control tools — a structural tailwind but timing is variable. Seeking Alpha: Advanced packaging outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter materials, slide deck and call transcript are available for deeper read; they show strength but also careful wording on near‑term demand. Seeking Alpha: Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guide disappointed some: Q3 EPS range (8.30–9.86) and revenue range ($3.2B–$3.5B) leave the midpoint roughly in line to slightly below Street EPS expectations and include a wide revenue band — investors sold the stock on guidance uncertainty. Yahoo Finance: Q2 highlights & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Market worries about the WFE (wafer‑fab equipment) outlook and timing of customer ramps—analysts flagged caution, which pressured the stock despite the beat. Seeking Alpha: WFE outlook concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: at its elevated multiple, some analysts and investors see limited near‑term upside, tempering reaction to the beat. Benzinga: Valuation offsets strengths
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put buying and elevated insider/institutional selling flagged on trading screens — options flow and visible sell pressure likely amplified the intraday decline. Quiver Quant: puts, insider sales and data

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on KLA from $820.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,450.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $1,575.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,600.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,570.39.

KLA Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $187.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,325.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,126.53.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.06% and a net margin of 35.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.20 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.86%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in KLA by 1.2% in the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 836 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in KLA by 3.9% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.