New York, January 9, 2026, 19:26 EST — After-hours
- KLA shares closed up 5.7% on Friday near $1,400; after-hours trade was little changed
- Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its price target to $1,750 and kept an Overweight rating
- KLA set Jan. 29 for its fiscal second-quarter results, with a call after the close
KLA Corp shares jumped 5.7% on Friday to close at $1,400 and were down slightly in after-hours trading.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse kept an Overweight rating and raised his price target on KLA to $1,750 from $1,500, according to a note carried by TipRanks and GuruFocus. Cantor said the group is still early in the investment cycle and framed the setup as an “All-In” stance, pointing to rising wafer fabrication equipment — the machines used to make chips — through 2026-28. GuruFocus
KLA, which sells process-control tools that inspect and measure wafers for defects during chip production, said it will report fiscal second-quarter results on Jan. 29 after the stock market closes. The company said it will also publish a shareholder letter and earnings slides the same day.
The move tracked a broad bid for chip names and their suppliers on Friday. Applied Materials rose 6.9% and Lam Research gained 8.7%, MarketWatch data showed.
KLA has been choppy this week. Shares fell 2.6% on Thursday to $1,324.60, even as the broader market was higher, and the stock was still within striking distance of its 52-week high of $1,406.97, MarketWatch reported.
For investors, the next question is whether the stock can hold near the highs into earnings. The focus will be on KLA’s outlook for tool demand, gross margin and any signs customers are stretching out orders as budgets reset for 2026.
But the setup cuts both ways. After a sharp run, expectations can get tight; a softer-than-expected forecast, weaker bookings, or cautious talk around customer spending could unwind the move quickly.
The next catalyst is KLA’s Jan. 29 earnings release after the bell and the conference call scheduled for that afternoon, when traders will look for a clean read on demand into the next quarter.
