KLA Corp slips as KeyBanc Capital downgrades, citing chip recovery worries
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KLA Corp (NASDAQ:KLAC) shares fell more than 1.5% in pre-market trading on Friday as investment firm KeyBanc Capital downgraded the semiconductor equipment maker, citing worries about timing of the semiconductor recovery. 
Analyst Steve Barger lowered his rating on KLA Corp (KLAC) shares to sector weight from overweight, noting that from a fundamental standpoint, it looks as if the downturn is slowing down, but it's not yet clear that a recovery is taking place.
Barger added, however, that a recovery is likely just a matter of time and more information may come from KLA Corp. (KLAC) at next week's SEMICON West conference.
Once the recovery starts, it's likely that Wall Street will positive revise its estimates on KLA Corp. (KLAC) in a number of areas, including earnings per share and margins.
Other chip equipment makers were little changed in pre-market trading on Friday, including Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX) and ASML Holding (ASML).
Analysts are largely bullish on KLA Corp. (KLAC). It has a BUY rating from Seeking Alpha authors, while Wall Street analysts also rate it a BUY. Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates KLAC a HOLD.
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