New York, January 22, 2026, 19:32 ET — After-hours
- KLA shares dropped 1.3% to close at $1,500 in regular trading, then nudged higher in after-hours action.
- New Street bumped up its price target but held the neutral rating; Deutsche Bank followed suit, raising its target yet maintaining its Hold stance.
- Attention shifts to KLA’s January 29 earnings and its guidance on chip-fabrication spending and tool demand.
KLA Corp shares slipped 1.3% to close at $1,500 on Thursday, then ticked up about 0.1% in after-hours trading as investors digested new analyst target changes ahead of the chip equipment maker’s upcoming earnings. New Street raised its price target to $1,315 from $1,230 but held a neutral rating, according to MT Newswires.
KLA plans to release its fiscal second-quarter results after markets close on Thursday, Jan. 29, followed by a conference call at 2 p.m. Pacific time. The company will also issue a shareholder letter and an earnings slide deck with the report.
Analyst targets are shifting, though the signals remain mixed. Deutsche Bank bumped its price target on KLA from $1,250 to $1,560, maintaining a Hold rating. The firm noted it revised its model ahead of the upcoming earnings report.
KLA’s shares slipped even as the broader market moved up, putting the stock at odds with the overall tape. The S&P 500 closed in the green and the Dow advanced, but semiconductor equipment rival Applied Materials dropped almost 2%.
KLA provides inspection tools and metrology systems—equipment that detects defects and measures components during chip manufacturing—plus software and analytics designed to boost yields, or the proportion of usable chips per wafer.
Investors often treat KLA’s earnings as a gauge of chipmakers’ intensity in advancing leading-edge production, since tighter tolerances usually boost demand for inspection and measurement equipment. The guidance tends to carry more weight than the quarter’s raw numbers, particularly regarding customer spending forecasts and the pace of new tool deployments.
This earnings setup has a twist: New Street raised its target, but it still falls short of the stock’s last traded price. That gap could spark a jittery reaction—investors won’t need bad news to sell, just results that come up “not good enough.”
The downside risk is clear. If KLA’s outlook points to weaker demand or if customers hold off on orders, the stock could drop sharply. Expectations are elevated, and analysts have been actively revising their price targets.
On Jan. 29, KLA reports fiscal Q2 results after the market closes, with management’s guidance coming shortly after on the earnings call. Traders are zeroed in on this catalyst.
