KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $936.53, but opened at $913.12. KLA shares last traded at $912.79, with a volume of 234,583 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $846.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $750.77. The company has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in KLA by 4,100.0% in 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 period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors 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.