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Stockchase Opinions

Brian Acker, CAKLA-TencorKLACDON'T BUYMar 12, 2002

Too expensive. FMV = $32.
$66.11

Stock price when the opinion was issued

$259.67

As of Jun 18, 2026. Market Open.

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BUY

An overlooked semis name and trades at a reasonable PE. 

BUY

A great way to play the AI chip gold rush. 30% free cash flow, 44% return on invested capital, double the industry average.

BUY
He sold Intel but it sticking with KLAC for its healthy cash flow and lower capex.
BUY
Semis have been behaving well lately. This is cheap and offers tremendous margins.
BUY
Geopolitical risk. Fantastic semi manufacturer. Leaders in a number of segments. Well positioned. Cyclical sector, so a huge amount of capex will come in, the industry will over expand, and then it will come to a dead stop. Backdrop over the next year is quite good.
DON'T BUY
Very little competition. Optical inspection of the semiconductor wafer. He owns others instead. Rapidly growing area.
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Curated by Michael O'Reilly since 2020.
1550+ opinions with 4.81 rating (one of the best performing expert).

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Aug 04/20, Down 12%) We are going to be disciplined and recommend this position be covered. With breach of keep technical support at $200 last week and further follow through this week, it is prudent to cover. There are now growing concerns of China-US trade tensions expanding into semiconductor manufacturers.
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Curated by Michael O'Reilly since 2020.
1550+ opinions with 4.81 rating (one of the best performing expert).

TOP PICK

Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O'Reilly KLAC is a semi-conductor technology company, as in their wafer technology assists manufacturers in the most efficient production of chips. Semiconductors have enjoyed a surge in demand with the advent of cloud services, AI and upcoming 5G. KLCA also pays a decent yield that safe with a 50% payout ratio and the Board just approved the 11th consecutive dividend increase. The company has just raised its earnings guidance for the full year. Recently reported revenues were up 15%. We would use $185 as a stop loss with an objective towards $235 -- potential 15% upside. Yield 1.64%

BUY ON WEAKNESS

A fine company he once owned. Semiconductors have had an enormous run until recently and are taking a break over the summer. Nothing wrong with that, not unusual. Enter this space in September or October. What will end this cycle
is a recession.

COMMENT

An optical inspection company, which makes tools which optically inspects wafers. They are used after the chip is manufactured to verify it is within specs. They dominate the area with an 80%-90% market share, and potentially even higher on leading edge wafers. Sold his holdings this year after a very strong run, but keeps it on his watch list.

DON'T BUY
Techs have to recover first. Will take a long time.
DON'T BUY
Was a top short. Very expensive. The stock hit his BUY STOP.
TOP PICK
Top Short Too expensive. Will cover at $44.