KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $6.40-7.60 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $6.51. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.60-2.90 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.62 billion.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $51.89 on Wednesday, hitting $755.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,249,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,525. The company’s 50-day moving average is $808.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $713.53. The stock has a market cap of $101.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. KLA has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that KLA will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $771.65.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.