Insider Selling: KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Sells 4,512 Shares of Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 4,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,213.37, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 71,383 shares in the company, valued at $157,996,990.71. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

KLA Stock Up 12.9%

Shares of KLAC opened at $2,411.64 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $832.24 and a 52-week high of $2,431.29. The company has a market capitalization of $315.03 billion, a PE ratio of 68.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,843.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,547.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.02. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 37.06 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.0%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 price objective (up from $1,700.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.44.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say the AI boom is improving the outlook for wafer-fabrication equipment demand, which is lifting shares of KLA and other chip-equipment names. Applied Materials, KLA stocks gain as AI boom lifts chip equipment outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight view on KLA, and multiple recent price-target hikes suggest Wall Street sees more upside after the company’s strong earnings and AI-focused guidance. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights KLA’s earnings beat, higher price targets, and continued demand for process-control tools as supportive catalysts for the stock. Why KLA Corporation Stock Edged Past the Broader Market Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles point to KLA’s upcoming 10-for-1 stock split, which may be drawing extra attention but does not change the company’s fundamentals. Dear KLA Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 12
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 4,512 shares in a disclosed insider transaction, which can slightly pressure sentiment even though the sale was small relative to his remaining holdings. Richard P. Wallace insider sale filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $133,209,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $119,618,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in KLA by 151.2% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $171,230,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in KLA by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 87,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $94,422,000 after acquiring an additional 35,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,812,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.