KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Up 8.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• KLA Corporation shares surged 8.4% during Thursday's trading, reaching a high of $1,072.85, following a recent analysis upgrade by several financial institutions.
• The company reported $9.38 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.85, and also announced guidance for EPS to be between 7.760 and 9.300 for Q1 2026.
• KLA declared a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and representing a payout ratio of 25.01%.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) shares rose 8.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,065.22 and last traded at $1,072.85. Approximately 339,480 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,118,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $989.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $910.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $805.69.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares in the company, valued at $24,128,418. The trade was a 33.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $444,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $368,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 25,655 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $16,166,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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