Short Interest in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Expands By 20.0%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, an increase of 20.0% from the August 15th total of 2,250,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 957,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $739.60. The company had a trading volume of 852,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,100. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $782.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $754.26. The company has a market capitalization of $99.58 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.