KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate KLA a “Moderate Buy” overall: Of 29 firms covering the stock, 19 recommend buying, nine rate it a hold, and one gives it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $220.35.
• KLA beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates: It reported EPS of $1.22 versus forecasts of $1.18 and revenue of $4.14 billion, up 28.9% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Company insiders sold 219,173 shares worth about $42.2 million over the past 90 days.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $220.35.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Truist Financial set a $225.00 price target on KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded KLA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 219,173 shares of company stock valued at $42,201,914 in the last ninety days. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atomic Invest LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 781.8% during the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in KLA by 2,275.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $156.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49. KLA has a 12-month low of $107.20 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.89.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.47 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that KLA will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company's product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.

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