Stifel Nicolaus Lowers KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $750.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $825.00 to $750.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 10.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on KLAC. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $814.11.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $7.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $677.13. 178,456 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,703. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $703.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $693.18. The company has a market cap of $89.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in KLA by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. BFI Infinity Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. BFI Infinity Ltd. now owns 6,316 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in KLA by 306.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 116,813 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $79,409,000 after purchasing an additional 88,073 shares during the last quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $5,952,000. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the first quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,748,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.