KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) PT Lowered to $870.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $950.00 to $870.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 12.90% from the stock’s previous close.

KLAC has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Argus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.81.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded down $6.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $770.58. 288,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,322. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $103.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. KLA has a 52-week low of $449.35 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $768.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $759.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in KLA by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,206,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of KLA by 2.7% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 11,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,291,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of KLA by 41,062.2% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 99,201 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,792,000 after purchasing an additional 98,960 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 106.3% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 689 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth about $1,935,000. 86.65% of the stock is 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.