KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC reduced its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,817 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 11,440 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in KLA by 239.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,094,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in KLA by 899.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,096,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,486,000 after buying an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $4.14 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.04 billion and $1.18 per share. Revenue increased 28.9% year over year, marking the company’s 10th consecutive quarter of growth. KLAC Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying roughly $4.7 billion at the midpoint versus consensus of $4.5 billion. EPS guidance of $1.33 to $1.55 also brackets or exceeds the $1.36 consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued AI-driven demand. KLA Q2 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for wafer inspection, process-control and advanced-packaging equipment is benefiting from the increasing complexity of AI chips and the construction of leading-edge semiconductor fabs. Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $225 price target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $240 and maintained Overweight. Advanced Packaging Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed. Several firms lowered price targets after earnings—including Wells Fargo, Needham, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Susquehanna and UBS—citing valuation, structural share headwinds or a more cautious risk-reward profile, even though many retained positive or neutral ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is declining in sympathy with semiconductor shares as investors question whether elevated AI infrastructure spending can continue at its current pace. The pullback also leaves the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, increasing near-term technical pressure despite the strong operating outlook. KLA Shares Weaken as Semiconductor Stocks Fall

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.35.

KLA Stock Down 5.7%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $157.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $206.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.62 and a 200-day moving average of $181.78. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. KLA’s revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.