Investment Company CCM Starts a Position in KLA Corporation. Is the Stock a Buy?

On October 10, 2025, CCM Investment Advisers LLC disclosed a new position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC), acquiring 11,189 shares for an estimated $12.07 million based on the quarterly average price in the third quarter of 2025.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 10, 2025, CCM Investment Advisers LLC established a new position in KLA Corporation by purchasing 11,189 shares. The estimated transaction value was $12.07 million as of September 30, 2025, bringing the fund’s total reported stake to 1.19% of its $1.02 billion in reportable U.S. equity assets as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

This marks a new position for CCM, with KLA Corporation representing 1.19% of 13F assets under management after the filing as of September 30, 2025.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NVDA: $40,548,903 (4.0% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• AVGO: $36,123,082 (3.6% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• GOOGL: $35,715,984 (3.5% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• MSFT: $33,699,582 (3.3% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• AAPL: $32,843,624 (3.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 9, 2025, shares of KLA Corporation were priced at $1,053.47, up 30.9% over the 12 months ended October 9, 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 by 14.6 percentage points.

KLA Corporation reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $12.16 billion and net income of $4.06 billion for the period ended June 30, 2025.

The company’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 32.05 for fiscal 2026, with an enterprise value to EBITDA of 28.39 as of June 30, 2025, and a dividend yield of 0.71% as of October 10, 2025.

Company overview

Company snapshot

KLA Corporation provides process control, yield management, inspection, and metrology solutions for the semiconductor and electronics industries, with a product suite spanning wafer inspection, metrology, reticle inspection, and software for process optimization.

The company generates revenue primarily through the sale of advanced inspection and process control equipment, complemented by software, services, and remanufactured products for semiconductor manufacturing and electronics production.

Its primary customers include semiconductor manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and electronics producers globally, serving both advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

KLA Corporation is a leading provider of process control and yield management systems for the global semiconductor industry, leveraging a broad portfolio of inspection, metrology, and process-enabling technologies. The company's scale and expertise enable it to support critical manufacturing processes for semiconductor and electronics customers worldwide.

Foolish take

With CCM Investment Advisers starting a position in KLA Corporation, the action suggests confidence in KLA stock's opportunity for upside despite its share price appreciation this year. Certainly, KLA is having a banner year.

In the company's 2025 fiscal year, ended June 30, revenue soared to $12.2 billion, up from $9.8 billion in the prior year. KLA's free cash flow (FCF) for the fiscal fourth quarter topped $1 billion for the first time.

KLA's success is due to businesses and governments around the world pouring billions of dollars into massive tech infrastructure expansion to support artificial intelligence. For example, OpenAI partnered with Nvidia to build AI data centers over multiple years with the latter investing $100 billion into the effort.

The AI opportunity creates the potential for KLA's revenue to continue growing. In fact, the company expects its fiscal first quarter sales to hit about $3.15 billion. That's up over the previous fiscal year's $2.84 billion.

Given the unprecedented AI buildout, CCM initiating an investment in KLA makes sense. KLA looks like a solid company to invest in, but the forward P/E ratio is a bit on the pricey side. So wait for a dip in the share price before deciding to buy.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: The value of U.S. equity securities that institutional investment managers must report quarterly to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a financial institution or fund.

Quarterly average price: The average price of a security calculated over a specific quarter, used for estimating transaction values.

Top holdings: The largest investments in a portfolio, ranked by their market value or percentage of total assets.

Trailing twelve months (TTM): The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio: A stock's current price divided by its projected earnings per share for the next 12 months.

Enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA): Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; used to value a company.

Dividend yield: Annual dividends per share divided by the current share price, shown as a percentage.

Process control: Technologies and methods used to monitor and manage manufacturing processes for consistency and quality.

Metrology: The science of measurement, especially as applied to manufacturing and quality control in industry.

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM): A company that produces parts or equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer.

Remanufactured products: Previously used products restored to like-new condition for resale, often with updated components.