On August 12, KLA Corporation rose 3.94% in pre-market trading, trading at $205.16/share, with turnover of $3.25 million. The rally was driven by Bernstein raising its price target on the stock from $225 to $250 while maintaining an Outperform rating, the latest in a series of bullish analyst actions.
Bernstein's upgrade follows similar moves by JPMorgan (target $238), Argus ($225), and Berenberg ($230), reflecting broad institutional confidence. The analyst consensus now stands at an average price target of approximately $239.62 with an overweight rating. The upgrades are underpinned by KLA's record fourth fiscal quarter results, in which revenue grew 15% year-over-year to $3.66 billion, beating the $3.60 billion consensus, while adjusted EPS of $1.05 exceeded the $1.00 estimate by 5%. The company also declared its first quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share following a recent stock split, payable September 1.
The broader semiconductor equipment sector continued to rally, with Applied Materials up 3.68%, Lam Research up 2.76%, Teradyne up 2.48%, and ASML up 1.38%, providing additional sector tailwinds.
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