KLA’s 2.79% Surge on Strong Earnings and Institutional Buys Ranks 95th in $0.96B Trading Volume

KLA Corporation (KLAC) surged 2.79% on August 12, 2025, closing at $934.69 with a trading volume of $0.96 billion, ranking 95th in market activity. The rally followed a $30.37/share statutory profit that exceeded analyst expectations, alongside upgraded 2026 EPS forecasts to $33.85 and a 6.8% increase in the consensus price target to $929. Institutional investors, including Todd Asset Management and Goldman Sachs, added 11.5% and 27.9% to their holdings, signaling confidence in KLA’s long-term positioning despite sector volatility.

The Semiconductor Equipment & Materials sector saw mixed momentum, with KLA outperforming peers like Lam Research and Onto Innovation. Analysts noted KLA’s 33.41% net margin and a $5 billion buyback program as defensive advantages in a volatile market. Technical indicators showed a bullish divergence, with the RSI at 54.45 and MACD at 3.97, while the stock approached its 52-week high of $945.87. However, proximity to the Bollinger Upper Band of $949.48 highlighted overbought conditions.

Backtest analysis of KLAC’s performance following a 3% intraday surge revealed favorable short-to-medium-term gains. Over 30 days, the strategy achieved a 60.69% win rate with an average return of 4.21% and a maximum return of 8.11%. The strategy of buying the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding them for one day generated a total profit of $2,340 from 2022 to the present, though it faced a maximum drawdown of -15.3% on October 27, 2022.