KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

KLAC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $727.15.

KLA Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $13.96 on Friday, reaching $779.06. 548,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,230. KLA has a 1-year low of $418.12 and a 1-year high of $790.52. The company has a market cap of $104.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $699.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.95.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,136 shares of company stock valued at $24,016,781 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.