Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $740.00 to $950.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.05% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $807.06.

KLA Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $871.16 on Tuesday. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The firm has a market cap of $115.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $747.54 and a 200 day moving average of $713.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in KLA by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,502,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,178,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.