Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Up 1.3 %

KLAC traded up $8.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $674.61. 267,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $747.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $762.96. The stock has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a twelve month low of $484.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.40% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that KLA will post 29.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $46,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.