Kickstand Ventures LLC. Buys New Stake in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Kickstand Ventures LLC has acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation, purchasing 249 shares valued at approximately $223,000 during Q2, highlighting growing institutional interest in the semiconductor sector.
• Recent insider trades include significant stock sales by KLA's EVP Brian Lorig and CEO Richard P. Wallace, indicating a decrease in their ownership percentages, which raised concerns among investors.
• KLA Corporation reported better-than-expected earnings with $9.38 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 23.6%.

Kickstand Ventures LLC. bought a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in KLA by 18.6% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,336 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in KLA by 185.1% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its stake in KLA by 8.7% in the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 7.2% in the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 3.3%

KLAC opened at $1,101.55 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $948.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $838.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market cap of $145.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.50. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $1,155.00.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $950.00.

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.

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