KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CAO Sells $299,838.35 in Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.59, for a total transaction of $299,838.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,390,276.84. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $193.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market cap of $252.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.95. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-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. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share, payable in September. The dividend reinforces shareholder returns and signals continued confidence in the company’s cash generation. KLA Declares Regular Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: KLA recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS versus the $1.00 consensus and revenue of $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year. Guidance for the next quarter of $1.06 to $1.26 per share supports the growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: A broader semiconductor rally driven by artificial-intelligence optimism, strong memory demand and expectations for chip-industry earnings is favorable for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment demand. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent levels. However, KLA trades at a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, making the shares sensitive to any slowdown in semiconductor capital spending. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. The sales reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a pattern of insider selling, although some transactions were related to equity-award tax obligations.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reported cutting its KLA position by approximately 2.86 million shares, or 90%, as of June 30. Because the disclosure is delayed, it is not necessarily a current trading signal, but it may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking and KLA’s elevated valuation.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

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.