KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $1,770.00 Price Target at New Street Research

Key Points

• New Street Research raised its price target on KLA to $1,770 (from $1,460) while keeping a "neutral" rating, implying about a 5.23% upside from the prior close.
• KLA beat Q3 estimates with $9.40 EPS vs. $9.16 and $3.42B revenue, set Q4 FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.87–$10.87, and the board approved a $7 billion buyback and a higher quarterly dividend ($2.30).
• Analyst sentiment skews positive (20 Buys vs. 11 Holds) with an average target of $1,653 and some firms raising targets up to $1,900, though the stock’s high valuation (~50x forward P/E) makes it sensitive to profit-taking.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by analysts at New Street Research from $1,460.00 to $1,770.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. New Street Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KLAC. Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on KLA from $1,550.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,760.00 to $1,770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,600.00 to $1,900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,653.00.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $1,682.00 on Wednesday. KLA has a 1 year low of $674.76 and a 1 year high of $1,939.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,580.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,388.79. The company has a market cap of $220.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.05, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.16 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.76% and a return on equity of 98.18%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.41 EPS. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 36.64 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 11.2% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 9,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,005,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 4,023.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in KLA by 16.6% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 8,534 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $133,209,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat: KLA posted non‑GAAP EPS of $9.40 vs. consensus ~$9.16 and revenue of $3.42B, both above estimates — a fundamental beat that supports upside. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns raised: Board increased the quarterly dividend to $2.30 and authorized an additional $7B for share repurchases — a strong cash-return program that tends to support the share price. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham raised its price target to $2,000 and kept a Buy rating, signaling continued bullish analyst conviction and potentially attracting momentum buyers. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-driven demand thesis: Multiple pieces (including Seeking Alpha coverage) emphasize KLA’s dominant position in process-control tools for AI chip production, supporting a longer-term growth narrative even if near-term moves are volatile. Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance: KLA set Q4 FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.87–$10.87 and revenue guidance $3.4B–$3.8B. The ranges roughly bracket consensus but leave scope for upside or downside depending on which end the business falls toward; investors parsed the range for directional signals. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed market reaction / shares slipping: Several outlets flagged that KLA shares fell after the print — likely driven by investor profit‑taking after a strong run, the guidance range’s breadth, and the stock’s elevated valuation (~50x forward P/E) which raises sensitivity to any hint of slowing growth. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and expectations: With a high P/E and large recent gains (52‑week high near $1,939), some investors may be trimming exposure rather than adding, making the stock more vulnerable to short‑term declines despite solid results. Globe and Mail

KLA Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.