NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 3:52 p.m. ET — Market Closed
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) heads into the weekend with its stock near record territory after another strong finish to the holiday-shortened week—keeping the semiconductor equipment leader firmly on traders’ radar ahead of Monday’s reopening bell.
KLAC last closed at $1,279.60 on Friday, Dec. 26, up 0.20%, and traded slightly higher in late activity to $1,279.98 in after-hours pricing. Friday’s session also saw shares push to an intraday high of $1,286.81, underscoring the momentum behind the latest leg of the rally. [1]
Why KLA stock is in focus right now
Over the past 24–48 hours, the most consistent theme in coverage has been simple: new highs.
- Market headlines highlighted KLA’s move to fresh peaks, with several outlets pointing to the stock setting new highs during Friday’s session. [2]
- Independent analysis published Saturday described KLAC as riding a six-day winning streak with cumulative gains of about 9.2%, alongside a notable increase in market capitalization over that stretch. [3]
The move has also taken place against a market backdrop that was calm—but still constructive—into the weekend. Investopedia reported that Friday’s trading action was relatively quiet after Christmas, with major indexes finishing only slightly lower on the day, while still ending the week up more than 1% overall. [4]
Analyst upgrades and price-target hikes: the key catalyst narrative
A meaningful portion of the bullish narrative around KLA in late December has centered on Wall Street research updates.
A recent note on Nasdaq.com (via Fintel) reported that Jefferies upgraded KLA to Buy in mid-December. The same report summarized a one-year analyst price-target snapshot showing an average target and a wide range between the low and high forecasts. [5]
Meanwhile, a separate weekend analysis attributed the rally in part to multiple analyst upgrades and price target increases, explicitly citing:
- Jefferies upgrading to Buy with a $1,500 price target, and
- Oppenheimer reiterating an Outperform stance with a $1,400 target. [6]
In the past 48 hours, Investing.com’s coverage also referenced multiple firms lifting targets following KLA’s latest quarterly results—specifically pointing to Stifel raising its target to $1,260 and TD Cowen lifting its target to $1,300, while also noting Jefferies’ upgrade. [7]
Fundamentals check: what KLA told investors most recently
While the stock is moving on momentum and sentiment, KLA’s underlying operating performance remains central to how long-term investors frame the story.
In its most recent quarterly earnings release (for fiscal Q1 2026, quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025), KLA reported:
- Revenue of $3.21 billion,
- GAAP diluted EPS of $8.47, and
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $8.81. [8]
The company also issued guidance for the following quarter (fiscal Q2 2026), calling for:
- Revenue of $3.225 billion ± $150 million, and
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $8.70 ± $0.78. [9]
KLA President and CEO Rick Wallace tied the company’s positioning to the AI-driven shift in compute demand, saying the firm delivered a “strong all-around” quarterly performance and emphasizing AI infrastructure as a multi-year tailwind for leading-edge logic, memory, and advanced packaging markets. [10]
The forecast debate: KLAC is strong, but targets are mixed
One reason KLA stock is drawing extra attention into Monday is that its price has surged to levels that challenge (or exceed) some published targets, depending on the dataset.
- StockAnalysis’ consensus snapshot lists 21 analysts with a consensus rating of “Buy,” but an average price target of $1,146, which would imply downside from the latest close—while the high target on that page reaches $1,500. [11]
- The Nasdaq.com/Fintel report (as of early December) cited an average one-year price target of $1,310.30, with forecasts spanning from $1,031.45 to $1,575.00. [12]
For investors, that spread matters: when a stock rallies rapidly, “consensus targets” can lag—meaning the debate shifts from “is the company executing?” to “how much execution is already priced in?”
Named analysts to know (and what they reportedly said)
If you’re tracking KLAC into the next session, StockAnalysis’ compilation highlights several identifiable analysts and firms, including:
- Blayne Curtis (Jefferies) — upgrade with a target raised to $1,500 (as listed). [13]
- C.J. Muse (Cantor Fitzgerald) — upgrade with a target raised to $1,500 (as listed). [14]
- Atif Malik (Citigroup) — target listed at $1,450 (as shown in the recent forecasts table). [15]
- Harlan Sur (J.P. Morgan) — target listed at $1,485 (as shown in the same table). [16]
Macro tailwind: AI capex and a bigger chip-equipment cycle
KLA’s business—process control, metrology, and inspection—often benefits when chipmakers push to more advanced nodes (and when yields matter more). That’s one reason AI infrastructure spending has become a recurring support pillar in KLAC coverage.
Reuters reported that industry group SEMI forecast wafer-fab equipment sales would rise about 9% to $126 billion in 2026, followed by another 7.3% increase to $135 billion in 2027, driven by capacity expansion for AI-related logic and memory. [17]
This is the macro bridge bulls are building: if AI-driven demand sustains high-end wafer-fab investment, KLA’s “picks-and-shovels” role in yield and process control can remain strategically important across multiple chip categories—not just one product cycle.
Risks investors keep circling: China exposure and policy constraints
Even in a momentum market, KLA’s risk discussion hasn’t disappeared—particularly around China and export controls.
Reuters reported earlier this earnings season that KLA expected U.S.-China trade tensions and export controls to hurt sales by $300 million to $350 million over the next five quarters, while also noting China represented a significant portion of revenue in the referenced period. [18]
KLA’s own earnings materials also cite risks tied to evolving U.S. rules and regulations that can affect the ability to sell products and provide services to certain customers in China. [19]
What investors should know before the next session
Because it’s Saturday and U.S. equities are closed, the next actionable window is Monday, Dec. 29, starting with premarket trading and then the opening bell.
Here are the most practical “weekend checklist” items for KLAC holders and watchers:
- Watch whether KLAC can hold above its breakout zone
Friday’s action put the stock near fresh highs, with an intraday peak around $1,286–$1,287. A common setup after a new-high push is a “hold the highs” test early the next week—especially if liquidity is thin. [20] - Track the next wave of analyst commentary
With KLA trading near or above some published target averages, incremental upgrades or target hikes can matter more than usual—because they can help “reset” expectations after a rapid run. [21] - Be aware of Monday’s scheduled macro catalysts
Investing.com flagged several U.S. releases for Monday, including Pending Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET) and EIA crude oil inventories (10:30 a.m. ET), among other items that can influence rates, inflation expectations, and broader risk appetite. [22] - Remember the calendar: next week is holiday-shortened
Liquidity and volatility can behave differently into year-end. Investopedia noted the coming week is shortened again, with stock and bond markets closed Thursday for New Year’s Day, and bond trading ending early on Wednesday. [23]
Bottom line
KLA stock enters the final week of 2025 with clear momentum: fresh highs, upbeat AI-linked demand narratives, and a drumbeat of analyst upgrades and raised targets. [24]
But with KLAC now trading near levels where price-target math becomes less forgiving, Monday’s session will likely be less about “what happened” and more about “what still isn’t priced in”—including any new semiconductor-capex signals, policy headlines, or fresh analyst revisions that can justify (or challenge) the stock’s premium positioning into 2026. [25]
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.trefis.com, 4. www.investopedia.com, 5. www.nasdaq.com, 6. www.trefis.com, 7. ca.investing.com, 8. ir.kla.com, 9. ir.kla.com, 10. ir.kla.com, 11. stockanalysis.com, 12. www.nasdaq.com, 13. stockanalysis.com, 14. stockanalysis.com, 15. stockanalysis.com, 16. stockanalysis.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. ir.kla.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.trefis.com, 22. www.investing.com, 23. www.investopedia.com, 24. ca.investing.com, 25. stockanalysis.com
