StockNews.com Upgrades KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Buy

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $722.26.

KLA Stock Up 1.1 %

KLAC traded up $7.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $713.93. The stock had a trading volume of 899,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,630. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $96.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average is $686.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $603.00. KLA has a one year low of $369.66 and a one year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. KLA's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 732 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,558 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $832,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 94,420 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $43,307,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.3% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,152 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,747,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.

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