KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised KLA's price target from $920.00 to $1,115.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which indicates a potential downside of 2.43% from the stock's previous close.
• KLA's recent quarterly earnings report showed $9.38 EPS, exceeding expectations, and a revenue increase of 23.6% compared to the previous year.
• Insider selling activity included CEO Richard P. Wallace selling over 10,000 shares at approximately $913.68 per share, resulting in a notable decrease in the CEO's ownership.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $920.00 to $1,115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.43% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $1,093.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on KLA from $930.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $950.00.

KLA Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $1,142.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $939.38 and a 200-day moving average of $831.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $1,147.00. The company has a market cap of $150.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth $1,479,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth $26,473,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 41,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,442 shares during the period. 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.

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