KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the semiconductor company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.53% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on KLAC. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $928.62. The stock had a trading volume of 798,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,622. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $932.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company's fifty day moving average is $817.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $739.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $348,822,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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.