KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Posted by on Apr 12th, 2023

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. KGI Securities cut KLA from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. BNP Paribas cut KLA from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $435.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on KLA from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $402.42.

KLA Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $377.91 on Wednesday. KLA has a 12-month low of $250.20 and a 12-month high of $429.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $52.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $387.35 and a 200 day moving average of $370.16.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The semiconductor company reported $7.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.08 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 145.21% and a net margin of 33.77%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 24.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.47, for a total value of $388,079.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,535.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.73, for a total value of $1,528,459.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,378 shares in the company, valued at $9,598,349.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.47, for a total transaction of $388,079.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,535.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,425 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,348. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 98.9% during the third quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $238,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $989,000. Veriti Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.0% during the third quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,231,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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KLA Corp. engages in the supply of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nano-electronics industries. The company operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Process Control, Specialty Semiconductor Process, PCB, Display & Component Inspection, and Other.

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