BNP Paribas Exane Issues Positive Forecast for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $1,550.00 to $1,700.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price target points to a potential downside of 2.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,800.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $2,000.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore upped their target price on KLA from $1,350.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on KLA from $1,850.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,788.52.

KLA Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $1,750.35 on Thursday. KLA has a 12 month low of $674.76 and a 12 month high of $1,939.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,586.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,391.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $229.43 billion, a PE ratio of 49.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.17 by $0.23. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 95.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA will post 36.64 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA beat Q3 expectations on both EPS and revenue, showing continued demand for its process-control tools. Strong operating cash flow and free cash flow figures were highlighted in the release. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised shareholder returns: a higher quarterly dividend ($2.30/share) starting in May and an additional $7 billion share repurchase authorization — a clear cash-return catalyst. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support picked up: multiple firms raised price targets and maintained bullish ratings (Needham to $2,000; Wells Fargo to $2,100; JPMorgan raised its target), which provides mid-term upside thesis for investors focused on AI-driven chip demand. Broker Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: KLA guided Q4 EPS to a range of $8.87–$10.87 (consensus ~$9.80) and revenue $3.4B–$3.8B (consensus ~$3.5B) — the midpoint is roughly in line with Street expectations but the wide ranges left some investors uncertain. Earnings/Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management and analysts continue to point to AI-linked demand as the primary growth driver; this supports longer-term structural growth but timing and cadence of customer ramps remain the key variables. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after the print because some investors expected even stronger near-term guidance or commentary; headlines noted the stock “tumbled” despite an above-consensus outlook, signaling profit-taking and knee-jerk reaction to guidance nuance. Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and recent run-up: KLAC has surged over the past year (~161% in some coverage) and trades at a high multiple (~50x 2026 EPS), increasing vulnerability to short-term profit-taking. Yahoo Finance

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.