Evercore ISI Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $1,700.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Evercore ISI from $1,350.00 to $1,700.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $1,120.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on KLA from $1,250.00 to $1,560.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $1,100.00 to $1,500.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,260.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,477.64.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $1,616.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,298.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,114.17. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,618.19.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.47 by $0.34. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.33 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cairn Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 1,114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 85 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in KLA by 7,100.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 72 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 1.4% in the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 1.5% during the second quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 8,482 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,598,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms bumped up price targets and reiterated outperform/overweight calls, lifting sentiment and providing near-term upside catalysts. Wolfe Research raises KLAC price target to $1,800 Evercore raises KLAC price target to $1,700
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts cite rising AI infrastructure demand and growth in advanced packaging/WFE end-markets as drivers for KLA’s top-line momentum and durable order trends. KLA Benefits From Growing AI Infrastructure Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying (e.g., FMR, UBS, Arrowstreet) and a stack of buy/outperform ratings support investor confidence and liquidity. KLA Q2 2026 Earnings Preview: Insider & Hedge Fund Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 earnings are scheduled after the close on Jan 29; consensus estimates are ~ $3.31B revenue and ~$8.98 EPS — the print and any guidance will likely swing sentiment. KLA Q2 2026 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and models are focusing beyond headline EPS — watch revenue mix, product cycle timing, backlog, and margin drivers in the company’s guidance discussion. Countdown to KLA Q2 Earnings: Metrics Beyond Revenue & EPS
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: 12 open-market sales and no purchases in the past six months (including sales by the CEO and other senior execs) could raise governance/conviction questions for some investors. Quiver Quant: Insider Trading Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag potential margin pressure even as revenue grows — if KLA’s margins fall short of expectations, the rally could reverse. KLA’s Q2 Earnings Loom: Margin Pressure Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions after a >100% one-year run — some commentary asks whether the stock is already priced for perfection, increasing downside risk if guidance is conservative. Is It Too Late To Consider KLA After Its 121% One Year Surge?

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.