Argus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price increased by research analysts at Argus from $1,400.00 to $1,750.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Argus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 31.48% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Bank of America boosted their price target on KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $1,500.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $1,300.00 to $1,800.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,595.39.

KLA Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,331.03 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,341.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,136.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.00. KLA has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $1,693.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a return on equity of 98.18% and a net margin of 35.76%.The company had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.20 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of KLA 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 transaction of $12,997,089.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value 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 represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.