Bren Higgins Sells 27,701 Shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

KLA Stock Down 7.2%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $216.47 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.22 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $282.77 billion, a PE ratio of 61.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $213.47 and its 200 day moving average is $171.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 26.06%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $7.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is being dragged lower by a broader semiconductor decline as investors worry that AI-related demand and capital-spending expectations may already be fully priced in. KLA Falls as Chip-Sector Selloff Deepens Amid AI Valuation Jitters
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling is adding to near-term sentiment pressure, including CFO Bren Higgins’ sale of 27,701 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan. Insider Selling: KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Sells 27,701 Shares of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its Hold rating on KLA, which reinforces a more cautious stance but does not appear to be a major new catalyst by itself. Goldman Sachs Sticks to Their Hold Rating for KLA (KLAC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive overall, with recent price-target increases from Morgan Stanley and Cantor Fitzgerald supporting the longer-term bull case even as the stock weakens today. Analysts Just Raised Price Targets On These 3 Semiconductor Equipment Stocks (KLAC)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 price target (up from $1,700.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $177.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of KLA from $187.50 to $197.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.34.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.