KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $1,800.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $1,350.00 to $1,800.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.81% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of KLA from $1,060.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $1,260.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $1,120.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $1,135.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,426.93.

KLA Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,567.82 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,253.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,088.43. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,581.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total transaction of $12,997,089.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares in the company, valued at $39,774,819.54. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth about $292,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 631.6% in the 2nd quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments now owns 15,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,603,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $237,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $337,000. Finally, Oak Associates Ltd. OH grew its position in KLA by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 90,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.