KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Berenberg Bank Analyst Says

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank from $1,760.00 to $1,770.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Berenberg Bank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,500.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays set a $1,700.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,750.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on KLA from $1,060.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,529.25.

KLA Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $1,684.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,319.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,121.69. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1,693.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total transaction of $12,997,089.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,211 shares in the company, valued at $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in KLA by 1.2% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 836 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Needham reaffirmed a “buy” and set a $1,800 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence and potential upside. Needham Reaffirms Buy on KLA
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — KLA topped estimates with $8.85 EPS and $3.30B revenue, showing robust demand for chip process-control tools tied to AI chipmaking. Reuters: KLA beats quarterly results
• Positive Sentiment: End-market momentum — KLA expects advanced-packaging revenue to grow mid- to high-teens in 2026, driven by AI demand for advanced semiconductors, supporting longer-term revenue growth. Seeking Alpha: Advanced packaging growth
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash generation and shareholder returns — KLA reported healthy operating cash flow and returned ~$797M in the quarter ( ~$3.01B over 12 months), underpinning the stock’s appeal to income/total-return investors. PR Newswire: Q2 results
• Positive Sentiment: Broader analyst and media support — Multiple firms have upgraded or highlighted KLA (Goldman, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley mentions) and commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) note tight supply/demand dynamics for KLA’s tools. Analyst support article
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — Management provided the earnings slide deck and transcript (useful for modeling product- and segment-level trends). Q2 slide deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated market noise — A separate report on a Klarna shareholder suit is circulating but is unrelated to KLA’s business. Klarna lawsuit (unrelated)
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed near-term guidance — KLA issued Q3 EPS guidance (8.30–9.86) and revenue guidance ($3.2B–$3.5B) that left the midpoint/shape of the guide slightly cautious versus some Street estimates, prompting a post-earnings pullback despite the beat. Yahoo: Q2 highlights & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term sell-side reaction — Several outlets noted the stock dipped after earnings as investors digested the mixed outlook versus the beat. Investing.com: shares drop after mixed outlook

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.