KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Increased to $760.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target raised by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $685.00 to $760.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.33% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $658.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $684.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $591.25. KLA has a 12 month low of $355.88 and a 12 month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that KLA will post 22.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in KLA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in KLA by 34.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its position in KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 32.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in KLA by 4.4% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB, Display and Component Inspection.