KLA Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 9,821 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,464 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised their price target on KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on KLA from $187.50 to $197.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded KLA from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.12.

KLA Stock Down 2.5%

KLAC opened at $224.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $293.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.54, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.41. KLA has a 52 week low of $83.22 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.77.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 713,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in KLA by 781.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,397,000 after buying an additional 318,520 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 600.7% during the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,522,000 after acquiring an additional 27,057 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co boosted its holdings in KLA by 900.0% in the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually high number of KLA call options, suggesting some investors are positioning for a rebound or further upside. KLA Climbs as Chip-Equipment Sentiment Improves Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary remains constructive on KLA’s AI-related exposure, with articles arguing its inspection and process-control tools benefit from semiconductor fab spending tied to AI infrastructure. Applied Materials Vs. KLA Corporation: This AI Infrastructure Play Is A Better Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier earnings were strong, with KLA beating revenue and EPS estimates and guiding to healthy fourth-quarter results, which still supports the longer-term bullish case. I Am Buying KLA Corporation Ahead Of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent 13F filing showed one fund reduced its KLA position sharply, but other institutions remain active buyers and the filing mainly reflects portfolio rebalancing rather than a clear fundamental change. Fund Update: WEALTH ENHANCEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains positive overall, with several buy/overweight ratings and recent price-target updates, though the target dispersion suggests some uncertainty about how much upside is left. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: KLA (KLAC) and Shopify (SHOP)
• Negative Sentiment: Some hedge funds and large holders have trimmed positions in KLA, which may be adding caution to the stock’s near-term trading tone. Fund Update: WEALTH ENHANCEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s weakness also reflects a broader pullback in semiconductor stocks after a recent run-up, even though KLA remains well above its lows and still has strong year-to-date momentum. KLA (KLAC) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

About KLA

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.