KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Position Raised by Cunning Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Cunning Capital Partners LP increased its KLA stake by 900% in the second quarter to 79,050 shares valued at approximately $23.85 million, making KLA its largest portfolio holding. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of the company.
• KLA reported quarterly earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $3.66 billion, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue increased 15.2% year over year. Shares recently traded at $188.98, up 1.8%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $222.22 price target; recent targets range from $186.50 to $270.00.

Cunning Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 900.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,050 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,145 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 9.6% of Cunning Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Cunning Capital Partners LP's holdings in KLA were worth $23,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of KLA stock traded up $3.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $188.98. 12,400,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,358,996. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $91.02 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $203.64 and a 200-day moving average of $189.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.22.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,970,908.80. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

About KLA

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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