KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,681,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 77,196 shares during the period. KLA accounts for approximately 0.5% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $327,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in KLA by 899.4% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in KLA by 239.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,418,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $471,419,000 after buying an additional 248,700 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $4.14 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.04 billion and $1.18 per share. Revenue increased 28.9% year over year, marking the company’s 10th consecutive quarter of growth. KLAC Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying roughly $4.7 billion at the midpoint versus consensus of $4.5 billion. EPS guidance of $1.33 to $1.55 also brackets or exceeds the $1.36 consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued AI-driven demand. KLA Q2 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for wafer inspection, process-control and advanced-packaging equipment is benefiting from the increasing complexity of AI chips and the construction of leading-edge semiconductor fabs. Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $225 price target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $240 and maintained Overweight. Advanced Packaging Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed. Several firms lowered price targets after earnings—including Wells Fargo, Needham, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Susquehanna and UBS—citing valuation, structural share headwinds or a more cautious risk-reward profile, even though many retained positive or neutral ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is declining in sympathy with semiconductor shares as investors question whether elevated AI infrastructure spending can continue at its current pace. The pullback also leaves the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, increasing near-term technical pressure despite the strong operating outlook. KLA Shares Weaken as Semiconductor Stocks Fall

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on KLA from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $425.00 price target on KLA in a report on Thursday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.35.

KLA Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of KLAC opened at $157.91 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $107.20 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.62 and its 200 day moving average is $181.78. The company has a market capitalization of $206.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.47 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.