KLA’s (KLAC) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $270.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank set a $200.00 target price on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $182.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.51. The company has a market cap of $238.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.86, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.41. KLA has a 12 month low of $83.22 and a 12 month high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that KLA will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.07%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 713,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock worth $29,547,170. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 900.0% in the second quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of KLA by 781.5% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,397,000 after acquiring an additional 318,520 shares during the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew 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 2nd quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upgraded to Strong Buy: Zacks raised KLA to a Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing improving earnings prospects. KLAC was also included on Zacks’ momentum and new Strong Buy lists. KLA upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support strengthened: JPMorgan lifted its price target to $238, while Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and Cantor Fitzgerald assigned an Overweight rating. TD Cowen also maintained a $260 Buy-rated target, supported by accelerating growth and advanced packaging opportunities. JPMorgan raises KLA price target
• Positive Sentiment: AI and advanced packaging demand: KLA expects advanced-packaging revenue to rise more than 70% in 2026 as increasingly complex AI chips drive demand for inspection, metrology and yield-management equipment. Its latest quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. KLA advanced packaging growth
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable sector flows: Semiconductor ETFs attracted substantial new investor money this week as strong technology earnings fueled a chip-stock rally, creating a supportive backdrop for KLAC. Semiconductor ETFs draw cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry analysts argue semiconductor oversupply is unlikely before 2028 because the infrastructure required for excess capacity is not yet in place, supporting long-term equipment demand but not providing a company-specific catalyst. Semiconductor oversupply outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and higher guidance, KLAC faced pressure after results as investors focused on uncertainty around the outlook. Its roughly 50 forward earnings multiple also leaves the stock vulnerable if AI-related growth expectations moderate. KLA earnings and stock reaction

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.