KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $830.00 price objective on the semiconductor company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 19.72% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $802.74.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded down $4.87 on Thursday, hitting $693.29. 811,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,112. The business has a 50-day moving average of $679.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $683.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in KLA by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 52,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 228.8% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $606,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in KLA by 6.1% during the first quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,157 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,905,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.