KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Bought by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• B. Riley Wealth Advisors more than doubled its KLA stake during the third quarter, purchasing 7,790 additional shares to hold 15,252 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million. Other institutional investors also increased their positions, with institutions owning 86.65% of the stock.
• KLA reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $3.66 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 15.2% year over year. The company provided first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26 and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $221.26 versus the reported $178.81 share price, but elevated valuation and recent insider selling—including sales by the CEO and chief accounting officer—remain potential concerns.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,252 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,790 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 12.5% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 13,542 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. RHS Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV raised its position in KLA by 8.1% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,275 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1,996.2% during the third quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,465 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $178.81 on Thursday. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.39 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The firm has a market cap of $233.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average price is $187.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on KLA and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.26.

Key Stories Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus price target implies approximately 27.9% potential upside. Analysts’ upward earnings-estimate revisions could provide near-term support, although price targets are not always reliable indicators. Wall Street Analysts See a 27.86% Upside in KLA
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s underlying business remains strong: its latest reported quarter exceeded revenue and EPS expectations, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. The company also issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the longer-term growth case.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership data showed more investors adding than reducing positions in the latest quarter, including sizable additions by Invesco, Norges Bank, Capital International Investors and JPMorgan. Why KLA stock fell 4.6% today
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reduced its KLA price target to $227. While the revised target remains above the reported share price, the cut signals more cautious expectations. Morgan Stanley cuts target for KLA Corporation stock to USD 227
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether KLA still offers attractive value after its five-year rally. Its elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if AI infrastructure spending or semiconductor demand slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its 5 Year Run
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials, Lam Research and ASML also weakened as investors reassessed AI-related chip spending, financing conditions and potential competitive pressure from China’s memory-chip industry. Semiconductor Equipment Stocks Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider-transaction data shows selling by KLA executives, including the CEO and CFO, with no reported open-market purchases in the past six months. This may reinforce concerns that the stock has become fully valued, though insider sales can reflect compensation and diversification.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last 90 days. 79.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About KLA

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company's product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.

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