KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Wells Fargo & Company

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $245.00 to $210.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $230.00 price target on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.35.

KLA Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $157.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $178.62 and its 200-day moving average is $181.78. The stock has a market cap of $206.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.76. KLA has a 52-week low of $107.20 and a 52-week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 over the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Formuepleje A S raised its position in shares of KLA by 1,125.5% in the 2nd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,070,000 after buying an additional 27,609 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co boosted its position in shares of KLA by 829.7% during the 2nd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1,195.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after acquiring an additional 13,794 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,751,000 after acquiring an additional 19,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in KLA by 40.1% in the third quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $4.14 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.04 billion and $1.18 per share. Revenue increased 28.9% year over year, marking the company’s 10th consecutive quarter of growth. KLAC Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying roughly $4.7 billion at the midpoint versus consensus of $4.5 billion. EPS guidance of $1.33 to $1.55 also brackets or exceeds the $1.36 consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued AI-driven demand. KLA Q2 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for wafer inspection, process-control and advanced-packaging equipment is benefiting from the increasing complexity of AI chips and the construction of leading-edge semiconductor fabs. Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $225 price target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $240 and maintained Overweight. Advanced Packaging Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed. Several firms lowered price targets after earnings—including Wells Fargo, Needham, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Susquehanna and UBS—citing valuation, structural share headwinds or a more cautious risk-reward profile, even though many retained positive or neutral ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is declining in sympathy with semiconductor shares as investors question whether elevated AI infrastructure spending can continue at its current pace. The pullback also leaves the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, increasing near-term technical pressure despite the strong operating outlook. KLA Shares Weaken as Semiconductor Stocks Fall

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.