We recently published a list of Why These 15 Semiconductor Stocks Are Skyrocketing So Far In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) stands against other semiconductor stocks that are skyrocketing so far in 2025.
The semiconductor industry has been delivering record-breaking numbers in the past two years. It had a solid 2024 where global chip sales increased 19% to $627 billion and this year is already shaping up to smash expectations. Projections point to $697 billion in revenue and the industry is on track to the $1 trillion target by 2030.
The CHIPS and Science Act remains active under the Trump administration, so it has been continuing to help those in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The manufacturing boom here is now starting to spill over into smaller semiconductor players as bigger companies have trouble scaling up to the demand.
If you sort semiconductor stocks by YTD gains, you’ll mostly find up-and-coming plays. These smaller companies could be the next big winners in the AI race, so it’s worth looking into them.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing semiconductor stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
The inner workings of a semiconductor manufacturing facility, neon hued machines humming with activity.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 61
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment and process control company.
The stock has returned stellar gains so far in 2025 after strong Q2 FY2025 earnings and AI-driven demand. KLAC surged after the company reported $3.08 billion in revenue, up 23.7% year-over-year, and adjusted EPS came in at $8.2, up 11.9% year-over-year.
As a result, Wells Fargo raised KLAC’s price target to $870 and cited the company’s leadership in process control and exposure to AI-driven wafer fab equipment spending. It holds a 50% market share in the $12 billion process control market.
In addition, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) now expects 2025 revenue growth of ~20%, up from prior estimates, as foundry/logic and DRAM markets rebound. DRAM wafer fab equipment spending is projected to rise in 2025 due to AI memory.
The consensus price target of $831.68 implies 9.56% upside.
KLAC stock is up 20.11% year-to-date.
Overall, KLAC ranks 3rd on our list of semiconductor stocks that are skyrocketing so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of KLAC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame.If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KLAC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
