Short Interest in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Expands By 32.9%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,270,000 shares, a growth of 32.9% from the April 30th total of 2,460,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

• 3 Tech Leaders Announce Buybacks Totaling $85 Billion

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $799.58.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on KLA

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

• 2 Semiconductor Stocks That Could Break Out in 2025

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $348,822,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 27.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.7%

• Dividends Meet Chips: Top 3 Semiconductor Stocks for Growth

KLA stock traded up $5.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $762.44. The company had a trading volume of 864,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,691. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $700.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $695.64. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $100.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

Read More

• Five stocks we like better than KLA
• Buy P&G Now, Before It Sets A New All-Time High
• Ulta’s Beautiful Q1 Earnings Report Points to More Gains Ahead
• Dividend Payout Ratio Calculator
• Top 3 ETFs Defense Hawks Are Buying
• Russell 2000 Index, How Investors Use it For Profitable Trading
• Zscaler Will Hit $360 Soon: Here’s the How and Why

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in KLA Right Now?

Before you consider KLA, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and KLA wasn't on the list.

While KLA currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here