KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• KLA Corporation reached a new 52-week high, trading at $1,084.34 and closing at $1,080.91, with a significant trading volume of 35,225 shares.
• Analysts have set updated price targets for KLA, with Morgan Stanley at $1,093.00 and JPMorgan Chase at $1,070.00, while the company maintains a consensus rating of "Hold."
• KLA's quarterly earnings showed a strong performance, with an EPS of $9.38 that exceeded expectations, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,084.34 and last traded at $1,080.91, with a volume of 35225 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,064.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $1,093.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $900.29.

KLA Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $142.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $928.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $825.43.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%.KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,128,418. The trade was a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,348,291 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in KLA by 4,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

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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