KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.760-9.300 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 8.135. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.0 billion.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 price objective (up from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $858.19.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on KLA
KLA Trading Down 5.0%
NASDAQ KLAC traded down $45.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $879.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,279,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,169,635. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $945.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $870.25 and a 200 day moving average of $766.22.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.
KLA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About KLA
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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