KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Rothschild & Co Redburn Analyst Says

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.95% from the company’s current price.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,751.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,760.00 to $1,770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on KLA from $1,500.00 to $1,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citic Securities raised their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $1,350.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,598.96.

KLA Trading Up 8.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,442.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. KLA has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $1,693.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,347.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,140.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a return on equity of 98.18% and a net margin of 35.76%.The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total value of $12,997,089.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 28.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.