TD Cowen Upgrades KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Buy

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was upgraded by TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $1,800.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $1,300.00. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 25.48% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. New Street Research boosted their price target on KLA from $980.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $1,135.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of KLA from $1,010.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,370.68.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $1,434.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,232.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,073.47. KLA has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $1,469.86. The company has a market capitalization of $188.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.26% and a net margin of 33.83%.The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.33 EPS. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total transaction of $12,997,089.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,774,819.54. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 836 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 28.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein initiated coverage with an “Outperform” and Stacy Rasgon set a $1,700 price target — a fresh analyst endorsement that supports higher upside expectations. Bernstein Initiates Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded KLAC from Hold to Buy and raised its price target to $1,800 — the most aggressive recent target, which investors may view as a catalyst for further re-rating. TD Cowen Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America bumped its price target to $1,650 and maintains a Buy — another institutional upgrade adding to the consensus of higher fair-value estimates. BofA Price Target Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target dispersion: Quiver Quant shows a median 6‑month target around $1,350 but multiple recent targets range from ~$1,450 to $1,800 — indicating bullish skew but some variability among firms. Institutional flows are mixed (large buys by some managers, reductions by others). Quiver Quant Analyst Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling over the past six months (multiple executives have sold shares) — could concern some investors about opportunistic exits at current levels. Insider Trading Details

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.