Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on KLA and set a $325 price target, implying approximately 70% upside from the prior close. The broader analyst consensus is Moderate Buy, with a $223.75 target.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, up 15.2% year over year. Management’s fiscal first-quarter outlook was supported by continued AI infrastructure investment.
• KLA shares opened at $190.80 after a reported 6.2% decline, while insiders sold approximately $29.5 million of stock over the past 90 days.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $325.00 price target on the semiconductor company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price points to a potential upside of 70.34% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $191.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.75.

KLA Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $190.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $249.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.01, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.41. KLA has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $224.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.95.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 713,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $157,996,990.71. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in KLA by 781.5% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $108,397,000 after buying an additional 318,520 shares during the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 600.7% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,522,000 after buying an additional 27,057 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co increased its position in shares of KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $1.05, above the $1.00 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year to approximately $3.66 billion, also exceeding the $3.61 billion consensus. KLA quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue of $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion and EPS of $1.06 to $1.26, with the revenue range above expectations and the EPS midpoint modestly ahead of the $1.13 consensus. KLA cited sustained AI infrastructure investment as a key demand driver. Reuters KLA outlook article
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation remained strong: operating cash flow was $906.4 million in the quarter and $4.14 billion for fiscal 2026, while the company returned $876.3 million to shareholders during the quarter. KLA fiscal 2026 results

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.

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