KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Analysts at Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price suggests a potential downside of 2.64% from the company’s previous close.

KLAC has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.81.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $770.34 on Wednesday. KLA has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $769.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $756.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $15,781,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,050,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares during the period. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.