KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Raymond James

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Raymond James in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $750.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $625.00. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 6.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.42.

KLA Stock Up 5.1 %

KLAC traded up $34.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $707.03. The company had a trading volume of 547,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,259. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $684.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $598.13. The company has a market capitalization of $95.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA has a one year low of $369.00 and a one year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB, Display and Component Inspection.