KLA (KLAC) Gets Upgrade as Foundry-Led WFE Demand Accelerates

Group 1: Company Overview - KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is a semiconductor manufacturing corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide [4]. Group 2: Analyst Upgrade and Price Target - TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar upgraded KLA's stock from Hold to "Buy" and raised the price target to $1,800.00 from $1,300.00, reflecting a significant increase in earnings estimates [1][3]. - The upgrade is based on an anticipated acceleration in foundry-led wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) demand, with a projected calendar year 2026-2027 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% for leading-edge foundry spending, compared to 15% for memory [2][3][4]. Group 3: Market Trends - The semiconductor equipment market is expected to see leading-edge foundry spending as the fastest-growing segment, driven by major players like TSMC and Samsung [2][4]. - The updated WFE analysis indicates that attention is currently focused on memory WFE due to rising DRAM/NAND pricing, but leading-edge foundry spending is projected to outpace memory spending in the near future [4].