KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Overweight” Rating

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $870.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $748.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 29.16% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $673.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $727.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $702.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $450,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $852,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,131 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,945,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,356,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 6,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,033,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.