Driehaus Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,636 KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired 2,636 shares of KLA Corporation, totaling approximately $1.79 million in value during the first quarter.
• KLA Corporation recently reported earnings of $9.38 EPS, exceeding expectations and showing a 23.6% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts have raised their price targets for KLA Corporation, with the consensus average target now at $890.59, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,636 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,792,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

KLA Stock Down 2.5%

KLAC stock opened at $872.00 on Monday. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $905.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $790.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA 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.

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