KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded by Needham & Company LLC to Buy Rating

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $750.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna cut their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $809.35.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $683.06 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $650.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $728.30. The company has a market capitalization of $91.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $549.63 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,275,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 826 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.