KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $240.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $425.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.35.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $151.38 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.67. KLA has a one year low of $107.20 and a one year high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction 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 represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 79.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GatePass Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $214,000. Wall Street Financial Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wall Street Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in KLA by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,762 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,533 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,600,000. Finally, Optas LLC increased its stake in KLA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices.

The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.