KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $825.00 to $750.00. The stock had previously closed at $676.21, but opened at $638.25. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. KLA shares last traded at $654.53, with a volume of 190,208 shares.

KLAC has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $814.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Dover Advisors LLC lifted its position in KLA by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at $63,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 20.5% in the first quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the first quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $699.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $692.71.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

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.