KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Holdings Lifted by Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC

Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,154.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,032 shares during the quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,499 shares of company stock worth $34,248,710. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $192.85 on Thursday. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.22 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.92 billion, a PE ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, strong memory demand and upcoming chip-industry earnings, supports the outlook for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion, while EPS of $1.05 topped the $1.00 consensus estimate. Management also issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, offering support for the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity, including elevated call volume, indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound after the stock’s recent retreat. Options activity is a sentiment signal rather than a fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a reported “Moderate Buy” consensus and several price targets above recent trading levels. However, KLA’s valuation is demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50, leaving the stock vulnerable to disappointment if semiconductor capital spending slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares for approximately $881,000, while EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares worth about $2.70 million. These transactions reduced their holdings by roughly 36% and 38%, respectively, adding to a recent pattern of insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank disclosed a roughly 90% reduction in its KLA position, equivalent to approximately 2.86 million shares valued near $862 million at the reporting date. Although the 13F reflects holdings as of June 30 rather than current trading, the disclosure may reinforce concerns about institutional profit-taking.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $253.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $215.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.70.

KLA Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.