Mary Beth Wilkinson Sells 4,295 Shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.59, for a total value of $822,879.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,912 shares in the company, valued at $6,880,380.08. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Mary Beth Wilkinson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 5th, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60.

KLA Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of KLAC opened at $192.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.92 billion, a PE ratio of 52.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $223.50 and its 200 day moving average is $182.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.22 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.