Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms Hold Rating for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $725.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $875.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $825.39.

KLA Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $673.60 on Friday. KLA has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $727.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $703.04. The stock has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.