KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Wedbush Securities increased its KLA stake by 894.4% during the second quarter, adding 35,625 shares to hold 39,608 shares worth approximately $11.95 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of KLAC.
• KLA reported quarterly revenue of $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, and EPS of $1.05, beating estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $223.70, supported by KLA’s exposure to AI, advanced packaging, and semiconductor yield management.
• Despite strong results, KLAC shares opened at $175.54, down 4.5%, amid elevated expectations and broader weakness in semiconductor equipment stocks. Recent insider selling and potential export restrictions or weaker China demand remain additional headwinds.

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 894.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,608 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 35,625 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $11,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,584,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $444,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s AI exposure remains a long-term support. Its process-control tools are viewed as important to improving yields in advanced packaging and increasingly complex semiconductor manufacturing. What KLA's AI-Fueled Advanced Packaging Momentum Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue reached $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, while EPS topped consensus. Management’s next-quarter EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26 also points to continued growth. Analysts cited by Zacks see meaningful potential upside, although price targets are not a guarantee. Wall Street Analysts Think KLA Could Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary remains constructive on KLA’s role as a potential “yield bottleneck” beneficiary of AI chip production and advanced manufacturing investment. KLA: The AI Yield Bottleneck Is Becoming More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: There was no clear new company-specific catalyst. The move instead reflects broader weakness across chip-equipment names, including declines in major semiconductor stocks that weighed on the Nasdaq-100 ETF and KLAC.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may have considered KLA’s strong earnings insufficient relative to elevated expectations; the stock sold off after its late-July report despite beating estimates. Comparisons with faster-growing semiconductor names also weakened its near-term appeal. KLAC vs. SNDK: Which Semiconductor Stock is a Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity is a headwind: KLA insiders reported open-market sales but no purchases over the past six months, including sales by senior executives. Investors also remain wary that export restrictions or weaker China demand could pressure sales and services.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on KLA and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.70.

KLA Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $175.54 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $213.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.58. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The firm has a market cap of $229.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470 over the last 90 days. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Profile

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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