KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

30 Jun 2025, 06:37 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.39.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLAC

KLA Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $889.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $778.92 and a 200 day moving average of $725.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,221,230,000 after acquiring an additional 80,154 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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