Evercore ISI Raises KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $900.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target hoisted by Evercore ISI from $800.00 to $900.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a hold rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $802.80.

KLA Stock Up 0.9 %

KLAC opened at $762.81 on Thursday. KLA has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $808.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $714.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The company has a market cap of $102.70 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 106.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 28.18 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.