Cantor Fitzgerald Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $950.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $800.00 to $950.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.95% from the stock's previous close.

KLAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.39.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $856.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $759.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $718.30. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,822,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.