Barclays upgrades KLA stock to Overweight on lower China exposure

Published 20/10/2025, 09:04
Barclays upgrades KLA stock to Overweight on lower China exposure

Investing.com - Barclays upgraded KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) from Equalweight to Overweight on Monday, while significantly raising its price target to $1,200.00 from $750.00. The upgrade comes as KLA demonstrates remarkable financial strength, with a perfect Piotroski Score of 9 and impressive 75% return over the past six months, according to InvestingPro data.

The upgrade comes as Barclays updated its wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) model and extended its estimates through calendar year 2027 following the recent SEMICON West industry conference.

Despite viewing the semiconductor capital equipment sector as generally expensive, Barclays highlighted KLA as "the best secular story in the group coupled with the lowest China risk profile."

The firm noted its outlook on foundry/logic, DRAM, and NAND markets has improved over the past six months, with China remaining the only significant concern in the semiconductor equipment space.

Barclays projects China semiconductor equipment spending will decline by 20% in calendar year 2026, but believes investors will increasingly focus on the long-term growth trajectory of companies like KLA.

In other recent news, KLA Corporation announced its fourth-quarter earnings for 2025, exceeding analyst expectations with a non-GAAP diluted EPS of $9.38, compared to the forecasted $8.54. Revenue also surpassed projections, reaching $3.18 billion against the anticipated $3.08 billion. Additionally, KLA declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.90 per share, payable on September 3, 2025, to shareholders of record as of August 18, 2025. Stifel has raised its price target for KLA Corporation to $1,050 from $922, maintaining a Buy rating. This adjustment reflects Stifel’s confidence in KLA’s strong position within the semiconductor equipment sector. These developments highlight KLA’s robust financial performance and positive outlook from analysts.

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