KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Target Cut by Cantor Fitzgerald

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price cut by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $325.00 to $225.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 41.71% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.77.

KLA Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of KLAC opened at $158.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.57. KLA has a twelve month low of $107.20 and a twelve month high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last ninety days. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in KLA by 239.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of KLA by 899.4% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $377,898,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $4.14 billion, above the $4.04 billion analyst consensus and up 28.9% year over year. Non-GAAP earnings of $1.22 per share also exceeded the $1.18 consensus estimate. KLA Corporation Reports Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal Q2 revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying a $4.7 billion midpoint that is above market expectations. The guidance suggests continued momentum in process-control and inspection equipment demand. KLA Expects Q2 Revenue Range
• Positive Sentiment: KLA expects the wafer-fabrication equipment market to exceed $200 billion in 2027. That forecast, combined with SK Hynix’s expectation of a prolonged memory shortage, points to potentially stronger and longer-lasting fab investment across the semiconductor industry. KLA Forecasts December-Quarter Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong cash generation remains supportive: KLA produced $1.53 billion in quarterly operating cash flow and returned $1.24 billion to shareholders, although elevated capital returns may limit the immediate impact of this factor on valuation. KLA Fiscal 2027 Results
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 43 times earnings and below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, KLAC remains vulnerable to concerns about valuation, AI-spending sustainability and broader market rotation. These risks could temper the rally despite the strong earnings outlook.

About KLA

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.