Citigroup Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $725.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $700.00 to $725.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.43% from the company’s current price.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.58.

KLA Trading Up 1.3 %

KLAC opened at $656.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $684.10 and its 200-day moving average is $597.60. KLA has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $88.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 value 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 435 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.