KLA Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 12,634 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average volume of 7,723 put options.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $1.05, above the $1.00 consensus estimate and up from $0.94 a year earlier. Revenue rose 15.2% year over year to approximately $3.66 billion, also exceeding the roughly $3.61 billion consensus. KLA Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued an upbeat fiscal first-quarter outlook, projecting revenue of $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion and EPS of $1.06 to $1.26. The midpoint of both ranges is above Wall Street expectations, supported by continued semiconductor investment related to artificial intelligence infrastructure. KLA Forecasts Upbeat Quarter on Sustained AI Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation remained strong, with quarterly operating cash flow of $906.4 million and free cash flow of $817.1 million. KLA returned $876.3 million to shareholders during the quarter, reinforcing its capital-return profile. KLA Fiscal 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The guidance range is wide: while its midpoint exceeds consensus, the low end of the EPS range is below the $1.13 analyst estimate. Some data also showed quarterly revenue slightly below a more stringent estimate, highlighting uncertainty around the pace of near-term demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks were already under pressure after reports that China is advancing domestic production of DUV lithography tools. That development raised concerns about long-term competitive pressure and potential weakness in the China market for KLA and peers. Why Chip Equipment Stocks Are Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared to take profits after a strong run and questioned whether KLA’s elevated valuation adequately reflects its AI-driven growth outlook. Unusually heavy put-option activity before earnings also signaled expectations for heightened volatility and downside hedging.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $190.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $249.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.41. KLA has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $224.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.95.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 26.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $305.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total transaction of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total transaction of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 713,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,333 shares of company stock worth $29,547,170. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 781.5% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,397,000 after purchasing an additional 318,520 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 600.7% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,522,000 after purchasing an additional 27,057 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co grew its position in KLA by 900.0% in the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.