KLA Corp ($KLAC): Price target $1,127 (up 66% from today's price)

KLA Corp ($KLAC) is a niche specialist in inspection and metrology for semiconductor manufacturing, and their shares could soar

Part of my ongoing series into the semiconductor capital equipment industry. The sector at large has been beaten up over the last 6 months. Some companies in this space have been more impacted than others. But overall demand for semiconductors, and the tools that make them, is expanding with multiple long-term mega-trends such as AI, 5G, Autonomous Driving, Data Centers etc.

In other words, investors with a long-term horizon can find very high quality businesses in a secular growth industry trading at reasonable or attractive prices. My previous presentation covered Applied Materials $AMAT. KLA Corp ($KLAC) is a similar company, but one that specializes in a niche of “inspection and metrology” equipment. These are the tools that inspect and detect defects during the production process and are mission-critical for ensuring semiconductor production efficiency. By some estimates, KLA has ~50% market share in this specialized space and enjoys entrenched customer relationships and very high…