KLA Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 13,127 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the average volume of 8,843 call options.

KLA Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $179.86. 4,792,060 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,633,264. KLA has a 1 year low of $83.22 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $234.95 billion, a PE ratio of 49.02, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $223.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on KLA from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total transaction of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total transaction of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 713,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 132,333 shares of company stock worth $29,547,170 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in KLA by 978.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 781.5% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,397,000 after purchasing an additional 318,520 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 180,279 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $265,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of KLA by 151.2% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $171,230,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 96,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,676,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

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.