Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on KLA from $1,875 to $1,975 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 13.5% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have also turned more positive on the semiconductor equipment maker, with several firms lifting targets and the stock now carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $1,842.19.
• KLA reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a 10-for-1 stock split along with a $7 billion share buyback authorization.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $1,875.00 to $1,975.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target points to a potential upside of 13.47% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on KLAC. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,865.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $1,700.00 to $1,910.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on KLA from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $1,900.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,842.19.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $1,740.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.03. KLA has a one year low of $740.44 and a one year high of $1,939.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,657.76 and its 200 day moving average is $1,446.99.

Shares of KLA are going to split on Friday, June 12th. The 10-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 7th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, June 11th.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.17 by $0.23. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 37.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 4,512 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,794.00, for a total value of $8,094,528.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,155,630. The trade was a 5.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $390,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of KLA by 64.7% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 13,759 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,259,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its stake in KLA by 5.1% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 2,225 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,280,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA's offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.

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