KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) PT Raised to $698.00 at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $692.00 to $698.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 1.28% from the company’s previous close.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $720.42.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $34.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $707.03. 547,156 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 954,259. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $684.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $598.13. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $369.00 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,577,847,000 after acquiring an additional 133,821 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 3.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $733,249,000 after buying an additional 54,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 12.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after buying an additional 153,752 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.