KLA Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 10,731 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 514% compared to the average volume of 1,748 put options.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were 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 owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Close Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $133,209,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at about $95,217,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in KLA by 5,697.9% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 97,231 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $87,094,000 after acquiring an additional 95,554 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 87,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $94,422,000 after purchasing an additional 35,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 418.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,227 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,524,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on KLA from $1,350.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $1,600.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,595.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $1,575.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,750.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,570.39.

Key Stories Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA beat expectations for Q2: revenue of $3.30B and non‑GAAP EPS $8.85, topping consensus and showing year‑over‑year growth. Reuters: KLA Corp beats quarterly results
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and capital returns: management reported robust operating cash flow and meaningful share repurchases/dividends that support shareholder returns. PR Newswire: KLA fiscal Q2 results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains, with recent price‑target lifts and buy/overweight calls (Needham, Berenberg, RBC), leaving upside per some models. The Fly: RBC raises KLA PT MarketScreener: Berenberg raises PT Benzinga: Needham reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management sees advanced‑packaging revenue rising mid‑to‑high teens in 2026, driven by AI demand for process‑control tools — a structural tailwind but timing is variable. Seeking Alpha: Advanced packaging outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter materials, slide deck and call transcript are available for deeper read; they show strength but also careful wording on near‑term demand. Seeking Alpha: Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guide disappointed some: Q3 EPS range (8.30–9.86) and revenue range ($3.2B–$3.5B) leave the midpoint roughly in line to slightly below Street EPS expectations and include a wide revenue band — investors sold the stock on guidance uncertainty. Yahoo Finance: Q2 highlights & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Market worries about the WFE (wafer‑fab equipment) outlook and timing of customer ramps—analysts flagged caution, which pressured the stock despite the beat. Seeking Alpha: WFE outlook concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: at its elevated multiple, some analysts and investors see limited near‑term upside, tempering reaction to the beat. Benzinga: Valuation offsets strengths
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put buying and elevated insider/institutional selling flagged on trading screens — options flow and visible sell pressure likely amplified the intraday decline. Quiver Quant: puts, insider sales and data

KLA Trading Down 15.2%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $1,427.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. KLA has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $1,693.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,325.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,126.53. The company has a market capitalization of $187.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a return on equity of 103.06% and a net margin of 35.76%.The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.86%.

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.