Morgan Stanley Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $748.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $703.00 to $748.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 1.83% from the stock’s current price.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded down $3.67 during trading on Monday, hitting $734.58. 152,570 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,113. KLA has a 1 year low of $595.86 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $675.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $716.33. The company has a market cap of $98.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

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.