KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.45 EPS

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. KLA updated its Q1 guidance to $6.40-7.60 EPS and its Q1 2025 guidance to 6.400-7.600 EPS.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $7.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $762.81. 1,822,552 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 906,318. KLA has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market cap of $102.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $808.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $714.17.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.