KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $218.4071.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank set a $200.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $190.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $210.52 on Monday. KLA has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The company has a market capitalization of $275.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.06%.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quilter Plc disclosed a new $127.1 million position in KLA, adding to evidence of continued institutional demand for the stock. Fund Update: New $127.1M $KLAC stock position opened by Quilter Plc
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains generally favorable, with recent coverage highlighting AI-driven demand and advanced packaging growth as long-term tailwinds for KLA. KLA’s Q4 Earnings Loom: Buy, Sell or Hold the KLAC Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks are seeing a July pullback after a strong AI-led rally, driven by profit-taking and valuation concerns, which can weigh on KLAC even if the company-specific outlook remains solid. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position change, suggesting the recent move is being driven more by sector sentiment and earnings positioning than by a fresh bearish bet against the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent fund and insider activity was less supportive: several large holders reduced stakes in prior quarters, and KLA insiders have recorded only sales over the past six months, which can add to investor caution.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This trade represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170 over the last quarter. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its position in KLA by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 405 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.