KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,250,000 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the July 31st total of 2,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 925,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $805.29.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business's 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased 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 in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $23.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $819.43. 1,079,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,207. KLA has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $803.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $748.09. The firm has a market cap of $110.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

KLA Company Profile

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.