Analysts Set KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target at $223.70

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $223.70.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA is positioned to benefit from continued investment in advanced semiconductor nodes, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging—key technologies supporting AI accelerators. The company’s process-control equipment is needed as chip manufacturing becomes more complex. KLA Gains From Advanced Nodes, HBM and Packaging
• Positive Sentiment: An investment thesis on KLA’s “double tailwind” points to durable demand from both AI-related semiconductor growth and rising process-control intensity, potentially supporting earnings growth from 2027 onward. KLA Corporation: Buy The 2027+ Double Tailwind
• Positive Sentiment: KLA was included among electronics stocks expected to benefit from infrastructure investment and expanded industry capacity despite macroeconomic headwinds. Its recent earnings beat, revenue growth and raised outlook reinforce the bullish operating backdrop. 3 Electronics Stocks Set to Benefit From a Prospering Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s view is cautiously optimistic: analysts recognize KLA’s earnings momentum, but the stock remains well below its 52-week high, leaving investors divided over whether the decline represents value or a potential value trap. KLA Corporation: See What Wall Street Sees
• Negative Sentiment: One comparison argues that ASML remains the more attractive semiconductor-equipment investment, implying KLA’s premium valuation—reflected in a high earnings multiple—may already price in much of its AI opportunity. ASML And KLA: Both Winning The AI Buildout
• Negative Sentiment: A broader semiconductor selloff ahead of NVIDIA’s earnings has created sector-level pressure and may be weighing on KLAC regardless of its company-specific fundamentals. Semiconductor Stocks Slide Ahead of NVIDIA Earnings

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470 over the last quarter. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its position in KLA by 829.7% in the 2nd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $20,763,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $2,522,430,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of KLA by 978.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,164,000 after purchasing an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 600.7% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,522,000 after purchasing an additional 27,057 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.0%

KLAC opened at $183.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $239.54 billion, a PE ratio of 50.00, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $217.48 and a 200-day moving average of $187.03. KLA has a 52 week low of $83.22 and a 52 week high of $307.37.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

About KLA

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.