Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $700.00 to $760.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $825.11.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $742.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $673.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $718.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.