KLAC KLA CORP

Price Chart

Executive Summary

On January 15, 2026, Wells Fargo upgraded KLA Corporation from Equal-Weight to Overweight, lifting its price target from $1,250 to $1,600 — a 28% increase. The move was part of a cluster of 15 analyst firms that acted on KLAC on the same day, including upgrades, maintains, and price target changes from RBC Capital, Bernstein, TD Cowen, Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Oppenheimer. Wells Fargo has a 55% accuracy rate on 6,035 calls, near the broad average, but below top-performing firms like Oppenheimer (80%) and Morgan Stanley (78%). The consensus today stands at 24 Buy/Strong Buy, 12 Hold, 0 Sell among 29 analysts, with a mean price target of $1,728.59 — implying a 1.2% downside from the current $1,750.35. Earnings estimates are rising: forward EPS has seen 4 upward revisions and 0 down in the last 30 days. Short interest is elevated at 65.8% of float, while institutional activity is mixed — Norges Bank opened a $2.99B position, but Renaissance Technologies nearly exited and UBS trimmed. The upgrade aligns with the bullish consensus but stands out due to the sheer number of firms converging on the stock. The next earnings report is due July 29, 2026, providing a catalyst window. For active traders, the cluster confirms strong analyst conviction, but the high short interest and stock trading above the mean target suggest caution until the earnings catalyst unfolds.

Impact Score

Consensus & Targets

Full consensus: 10 Strong Buy, 14 Buy, 12 Hold, 0 Sell, 0 Strong Sell across 29 analysts. This gives 82.8% bullish (Buy/Strong Buy) and 17.2% neutral (Hold), with no bearish ratings. The consensus is strongly positive, and Wells Fargo’s upgrade from a neutral Equal-Weight to Overweight brings it in line with the prevailing view.

Price target analysis: mean $1,728.59, median $1,700, high $2,100, low $1,350. Current price $1,750.35 implies 1.3% upside to the mean and 3.1% to the median. Wells Fargo’s January target of $1,600 was 7.5% below the mean, but the firm subsequently raised its target to $2,100 on April 30, 2026 (highest in the group). The high target ($2,100) is 20% above current price, the low ($1,350) is 23% below.

Recent Analyst Activity

30-day analyst activity: 0 upgrades, 0 downgrades. However, earnings estimate revisions show positive momentum: current fiscal year EPS has been revised up 3 times and down 2 times (net +1) in the last 30 days, while next fiscal year EPS shows 4 upward revisions and 0 downward — a clear upward bias. The current EPS estimate of $36.76 is $0.17 higher than 30 days ago. This divergence between flat rating activity and rising estimates suggests analysts are becoming more constructive on fundamentals without changing formal ratings.

Firm Track Record — Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo accuracy: 55% on 6035 calls | avg return: 3.6%

Industry benchmark: mean 51% ± 11%. Top tier: ≥61% (mean + 1σ). Based on 15 firms with ≥5 scored calls.

Wells Fargo has a 55% accuracy rate on 6,035 analyst calls with an average return of 3.6%. This puts it below the top-tier firms covering KLAC: Oppenheimer (80% accuracy on 5 calls, +15.3% avg return), Needham (80%, +12.8%), Morgan Stanley (78%, +21.3%), and JP Morgan (75%, +18.6%). Wells Fargo’s accuracy is in line with the broader average of firms like Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Goldman Sachs (all 50%). The best performers are Oppenheimer and Morgan Stanley; the worst are Jefferies (50% on 2 calls) and Deutsche Bank (50%).

Earnings Estimates

Next earnings: Jul 29, 2026

Cross-Platform Signals

Insider trades: none reported. Congressional trades: one sell of $1,001–$15,000 by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) on April 8, 2026 — a minor bearish signal. Institutional activity is mixed: FMR LLC doubled its position (+118%, worth $2.71B), Norges Bank opened a massive new $2.99B stake, and Two Sigma added 36.4%. Conversely, Renaissance Technologies nearly exited (-81.1%) and UBS trimmed 27.5%. Short interest stands at 407,366 shares (65.8% of float) — extremely elevated and bearish. This mixes with the bullish analyst cluster to create a tug-of-war; the short interest divergence is notable and suggests potential for a squeeze if earnings deliver upside.

Documents Analyzed

Report based on filing metadata.

US Market Status