KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Short Interest Update

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, an increase of 17.1% from the February 13th total of 2,860,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

KLAC stock traded up $9.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $719.61. 753,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 948,310. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $727.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $704.39. The company has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

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.