KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $221.18, but opened at $239.02. KLA shares last traded at $244.7060, with a volume of 2,361,454 shares trading hands.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised KLA’s price target from $191 to $270 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing a prolonged semiconductor equipment demand cycle and stronger structural growth prospects. AMAT, KLAC, LRCX Stocks: 5-Star Analyst Sharply Raises Price Targets – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Needham also lifted its price target on KLA from $200 to $270 and kept a Buy rating, reinforcing the view that the company still has upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Needham target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating and reaffirmed a $274 target, saying KLA continues to benefit from structural growth drivers in semiconductor manufacturing. KLA Maintained at Buy as Analyst Sees Structural Growth Drivers; Price Target Reaffirmed at $274
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analyst coverage from other outlets echoed the same theme: KLA is seen as a beneficiary of a durable AI- and semiconductor-driven capex cycle, which can support sentiment but does not change fundamentals overnight. Applied Materials, Lam, KLA take advantage of prolonged demand cycle: Stifel
• Negative Sentiment: One recent commentary suggested KLA may be getting close to fully valued after its AI-driven guidance lift, which could temper enthusiasm if investors worry the stock has already priced in much of the good news. KLA (KLAC) Following Its AI Driven Guidance Lift Looks Close To Fully Valued

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of KLA from $187.50 to $197.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KLA from $190.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $200.00 target price on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.80.

KLA Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $302.43 billion, a PE ratio of 65.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.41.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. 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 analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.06%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170 in the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in KLA by 781.5% during 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 buying an additional 318,520 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $119,618,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew 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 acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 848.3% in the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 45,860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,836,000 after acquiring an additional 41,024 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.