KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Says

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $1,850.00 to $2,000.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.25% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,630.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $1,575.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,595.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,607.64.

KLA Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $63.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $1,535.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 171,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,960. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,474.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,292.47. The company has a market capitalization of $201.27 billion, a PE ratio of 44.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.83. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1,693.35.

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

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $2,000 and kept an “Overweight” rating — a substantial upside signal from a major shop that supports further upside in the stock. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: KLA announced an additional $7 billion share buyback and a 21% dividend increase — a large capital-return program that reduces float, boosts EPS accretion and tends to support the share price. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market commentary highlights KLA’s strong earnings surprise history and the view that KLA could beat estimates again — reinforcing expectations for continued profit beat-and-raise dynamics. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other outlets are flagging KLA on “buyback watch” lists — incremental positive press that can attract momentum and buy-side interest following the repurchase announcement. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market rally (S&P, Nasdaq gains on geopolitical easing) is a tailwind supporting chip stocks like KLA, but this is macro-driven and not company-specific. Barchart
• Neutral Sentiment: QuiverQuant notes heavy intraday volume, institutional portfolio shifts (mixed adds and trims) and some insider selling — high interest but mixed signals on positioning. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: New Street raised its target to $1,460 but retained a “Neutral” rating — the target implies downside versus the current price, which could temper upside for investors who follow that shop. MarketScreener

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.