New York, January 9, 2026, 15:03 EST — Regular session
- KLAC up about 5.6% in afternoon trade, reversing a two-day slide
- Cantor Fitzgerald lifts KLAC price target to $1,750, keeps Overweight
- KLA set its fiscal Q2 earnings release for Jan. 29, after the close
KLA Corp shares rose about 5.6% to $1,398.71 in afternoon trading on Friday, tracking a rebound in chip names and fresh bullish analyst comments on the semiconductor equipment cycle.
KLA said on Thursday it will review second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Jan. 29 and publish results the same day after the U.S. stock market closes, alongside a shareholder letter and earnings slide deck. (KLA Corporation)
The move matters because KLA sits in the middle of a tight trade: investors want exposure to chip spending tied to advanced manufacturing, but they also want clean signals that budgets are holding up as rates and growth expectations swing around. KLA’s niche is “process control” — inspection and measurement gear that helps chipmakers spot defects and lift yields.
Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its price target on KLA to $1,750 from $1,500 and kept an Overweight rating, pointing to what it called a still-early investment cycle in large-cap chip-capital equipment. The note argued that rising wafer fabrication equipment spending — the toolsets used to build chips — could support growth into 2026-28, describing an “All-In” stance. (TipRanks)
KLA’s gain came with the group. The PHLX semiconductor index jumped 2.6%, and Lam Research climbed about 8% after Mizuho raised its price target on the chip-tool maker, Reuters reported. Nasdaq’s market movers feed also flagged strength across equipment names including ASML and Applied Materials. (Reuters)
Broader risk appetite improved after the U.S. jobs report, which showed nonfarm payrolls rose 50,000 in December and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, while wage growth stayed firm. “All roads lead to the unemployment rate,” Fitch Ratings’ Olu Sonola said, arguing it should cool the Fed’s urgency even as weak hiring “can’t be brushed aside.” (Reuters)
Technically, the stock is back near the $1,400 area and within range of its recent peak. MarketWatch data put the 52-week high at $1,406.97, hit earlier this week. (MarketWatch)
But the trade cuts both ways. If chipmakers pull back on capital spending, or if rates reprice higher on inflation data, high-priced equipment stocks can give up ground fast — especially near record levels where sellers tend to show up.
Next up: the U.S. CPI report for December on Jan. 13 and the Fed’s Jan. 27-28 policy meeting. For KLA investors, the hard catalyst is the Jan. 29 earnings call, where demand wording and any shift in tone on equipment spending will set the next move. (Bls)
