KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of KLA from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $133.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.35.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $4.98 on Friday, reaching $152.32. The stock had a trading volume of 12,499,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,760,776. The business's 50 day moving average is $172.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. KLA has a 1 year low of $107.20 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The company has a market cap of $198.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $10,731,526.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 634,911 shares in the company, valued at $94,614,437.22. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornermen Financial LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $1,041,000. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 21.4% during the third quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mayport LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 84,241 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company's products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.

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