First County Bank CT Purchases 8,986 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

First County Bank CT lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 869.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 8,986 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up about 1.4% of First County Bank CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth about $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth $444,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $192.85 on Thursday. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $251.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $223.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,499 shares of company stock valued at $34,248,710. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA 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.