KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Announces Earnings Results

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. KLA updated its Q4 guidance to $5.47-6.67 EPS and its Q4 2024 guidance to 5.470-6.670 EPS.

KLA Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $34.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $707.81. 558,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 954,259. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA has a 52-week low of $369.00 and a 52-week high of $729.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $684.51 and its 200-day moving average is $598.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $720.42.

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.