MILPITAS, Calif. — December 12, 2025 — KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) stock is pulling back Friday after recently trading near record levels, as the broader Nasdaq complex weakens and investors reassess the near-term pace of the AI-driven semiconductor upcycle.
As of 17:17 UTC on Friday, Dec. 12, KLAC was $1,207.57, down $38.61 (‑3.10%) on the session, with an intraday range of $1,193.25 to $1,239.87.
Below is a complete, publication-ready rundown of the main KLAC headlines circulating on Dec. 12, 2025, plus the latest company guidance, analyst targets, and the risk factors investors are focusing on right now.
What’s happening with KLA stock on Dec. 12, 2025
1) Semiconductor and AI-linked tech stocks are broadly under pressure
KLA is moving in a market environment where the Nasdaq and Nasdaq-100 slid as much as ~2% intraday as momentum in the AI trade softened, with sentiment hit early after Broadcom flagged tightening margins in its commentary, according to a Seeking Alpha market update dated Dec. 12, 2025. [1]
A separate market note published to Nasdaq.com (sourced from Barchart) also described stocks being pressured by a Broadcom sell-off and higher bond yields, with the Nasdaq-100 down on the day at the time of publication. [2]
Why this matters for KLAC: KLA sits in the “AI supply chain” category that often trades as a high-quality, high-multiple compounder when sentiment is strong—but can also see sharp profit-taking when the Nasdaq trend turns risk-off.
2) Options flow is getting attention—Benzinga flags “smart money” activity
One of the most widely shared single-stock headlines today (Dec. 12) comes from Benzinga, which reported notable “whale” options activity in KLAC and characterized the positioning as noticeably bullish overall (while still mixed in individual trades). Benzinga’s recap identified 8 trades (4 calls and 4 puts) and highlighted a frequently watched strike “band” over recent months. [3]
The same Benzinga item also referenced the most recent “expert” rating it surfaced, pointing to Morgan Stanley maintaining an Equal-Weight rating with a $1,214 target price (originally dated Dec. 2). [4]
Takeaway: In an index-led pullback, unusual options flow can amplify attention—even if it doesn’t change the long-term fundamentals.
3) A fresh institutional-holdings headline hit the tape today
Another Dec. 12 headline comes from MarketBeat, which reported a new stake disclosed by Globeflex Capital L P (via 13F filings) and reiterated that institutional ownership remains high (MarketBeat cited ~86.65%). [5]
Institutional flows rarely move a mega-cap-quality name day-to-day on their own, but they can shape the narrative when the stock is volatile.
The fundamentals: what KLA last reported and what it guided next
KLA’s most recent earnings report (for fiscal 2026 Q1 ended Sept. 30, 2025) showed continued strength tied to leading-edge manufacturing and process control demand:
- Revenue:$3.21B
- Non-GAAP EPS:$8.81 (above the midpoint of guidance and above typical consensus figures at the time)
- Operating cash flow:$1.16B in the quarter; free cash flow:$1.07B
- Capital returns:$799.1M for the quarter; $3.09B over the last twelve months [6]
Management message: AI infrastructure buildout remains the core bull thesis
In the earnings release, CEO Rick Wallace described the AI infrastructure buildout as a major multi-year shift and positioned KLA as a beneficiary across foundry/logic, memory, and advanced packaging—areas where inspection/metrology intensity typically rises with complexity. [7]
Official company guidance for the December quarter
For fiscal 2026 Q2 (quarter ending Dec. 31, 2025), KLA guided to:
- Revenue:$3.225B ± $150M
- Non-GAAP gross margin:62.0% ± 1.0%
- Non-GAAP EPS:$8.70 ± $0.78 [8]
That revenue outlook aligned closely with Reuters’ reporting that KLA expected about $3.23B in Q2 sales versus an LSEG-compiled estimate around $3.18B at the time. [9]
The biggest swing factor: China exposure and export-control risk
Even with AI-linked demand staying resilient, KLA continues to call out China-related risk as a material overhang.
Reuters reported that KLA expected U.S.-China trade tensions/export restrictions to reduce sales by about $300M–$350M over the next five quarters, citing the company’s shareholder communication and its framing of “market access loss” from extended U.S. export controls. [10]
Reuters also highlighted how meaningful China has been to the model historically, noting that sales to China made up 39% of KLA’s total third-quarter revenue (per Reuters’ reporting) and that KLA’s customer base includes major global manufacturers. [11]
Why this matters now: The market is trying to decide whether KLA can (a) keep growing overall, while (b) managing mix shifts away from China, and (c) still sustain premium margins.
A Stifel note summarized by Investing.com reinforced that theme, stating KLA guided for slightly higher December-quarter revenue despite a steep China decline, and pointed to demand from HBM/DRAM-led memory as an offset. [12]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: what the Street is signaling into year-end
Analyst perspectives on KLAC remain constructive—but not uniformly bullish at current levels, largely because the stock has already repriced sharply upward through 2025.
Notable target/ratings references in current coverage
- Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight; $1,214 target (referenced in Dec. 12 coverage) [13]
- Stifel: Buy; target raised to $1,260 (Oct. 30 note) [14]
MarketBeat’s consensus snapshot (as repeated in its Dec. 12 institutional filing story) framed KLA as a “Hold” on average with a consensus price target around $1,243.81 (and a split between Buy and Hold ratings). [15]
It’s worth noting that different data aggregators often show different “consensus” values depending on which firms are included, how targets are time-weighted, and whether older targets roll off—so readers will see variation across platforms. [16]
Earnings expectations
On the earnings side, Nasdaq’s consensus snapshot (as captured in recent KLAC earnings-forecast coverage) has shown a consensus EPS forecast for the fiscal year ending June 2026. [17]
(Editors’ note for publication: if you want the most conservative phrasing, you can cite KLA’s own quarterly EPS guidance from its press release as the “company forecast,” and treat third-party EPS figures as “consensus estimates.”) [18]
Dividend and shareholder returns: the quieter support under the KLAC story
KLA remains a steady capital-return story alongside its growth exposure.
On Nov. 6, 2025, KLA’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.90 per share, payable Dec. 2, 2025 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 17, 2025. [19]
The company also emphasized ongoing capital returns in its Q1 FY2026 earnings release (dividends and buybacks combined), alongside strong free cash flow. [20]
Insider activity: what investors are watching (and how to interpret it)
In mid-November, Investing.com reported that CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares at $1,203.10 on Nov. 11, 2025 (about $13M), and stated the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan (per its summary of a Form 4 filing). [21]
How this typically lands with markets: Planned sales under 10b5‑1 programs are often treated differently from discretionary selling, but they still appear in headlines—especially when a stock is near highs.
What to watch next for KLA stock
Here are the catalysts that matter most for KLAC into late December and early 2026:
- December-quarter results and forward guidance
Investors will focus less on the quarter itself and more on management’s view of calendar 2026 WFE intensity, advanced packaging, and memory strength. (KLA’s current quarter guidance is already on the table.) [22] - China/export-control updates
Any additional tightening (or clarity) around export rules, enforcement, or customer access can change the near-term revenue trajectory—KLA has already quantified a multi-quarter impact range. [23] - AI-cycle sentiment and megacap “tone”
Today’s tape action shows how quickly AI sentiment can swing when a bellwether (like Broadcom) changes the narrative on margins or growth. [24] - Rates and risk appetite
Tech and semiconductor equipment stocks have been sensitive to the rates narrative. Earlier this week, Reuters reported a Fed rate cut that helped lift equities, but the path forward remains a key variable for valuation-heavy leaders. [25]
Bottom line
KLA’s long-term story still rests on a clear structural thesis: as chips become more complex—across leading-edge logic, advanced memory, and packaging—the industry typically needs more measurement, inspection, and process control, which is KLA’s core franchise. [26]
But today (Dec. 12, 2025), KLAC is trading as much on macro/AI sentiment and Nasdaq direction as on company-specific developments—while investors continue to balance strong guidance and cash generation against the real, quantifiable uncertainty around China market access. [27]
References
1. seekingalpha.com, 2. www.nasdaq.com, 3. www.benzinga.com, 4. www.benzinga.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. ir.kla.com, 7. ir.kla.com, 8. ir.kla.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.benzinga.com, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.nasdaq.com, 18. ir.kla.com, 19. ir.kla.com, 20. ir.kla.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. ir.kla.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. seekingalpha.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.benzinga.com, 27. www.reuters.com
