KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC decreased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in KLA by 27.0% in the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in KLA by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 32,335 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,303,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in KLA by 72.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in KLA by 20.3% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 4,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.26.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus price target implies approximately 27.9% potential upside. Analysts’ upward earnings-estimate revisions could provide near-term support, although price targets are not always reliable indicators. Wall Street Analysts See a 27.86% Upside in KLA
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s underlying business remains strong: its latest reported quarter exceeded revenue and EPS expectations, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. The company also issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the longer-term growth case.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership data showed more investors adding than reducing positions in the latest quarter, including sizable additions by Invesco, Norges Bank, Capital International Investors and JPMorgan. Why KLA stock fell 4.6% today
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reduced its KLA price target to $227. While the revised target remains above the reported share price, the cut signals more cautious expectations. Morgan Stanley cuts target for KLA Corporation stock to USD 227
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether KLA still offers attractive value after its five-year rally. Its elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if AI infrastructure spending or semiconductor demand slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its 5 Year Run
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials, Lam Research and ASML also weakened as investors reassessed AI-related chip spending, financing conditions and potential competitive pressure from China’s memory-chip industry. Semiconductor Equipment Stocks Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider-transaction data shows selling by KLA executives, including the CEO and CFO, with no reported open-market purchases in the past six months. This may reinforce concerns that the stock has become fully valued, though insider sales can reflect compensation and diversification.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $178.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.64. 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 52 week low of $105.39 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The firm has a market cap of $233.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.07%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.