Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $211.24 and last traded at $212.1940, with a volume of 2249403 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $200.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Lam Research from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Lam Research from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Oppenheimer set a $200.00 target price on shares of Lam Research and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, New Street Research upped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.37.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $164.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.92. The company has a market capitalization of $267.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.77.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 29.66% and a return on equity of 60.60%. Lam Research’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total transaction of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,677,892.20. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 9,010 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.47, for a total transaction of $1,418,804.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,942,091.42. This trade represents a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,608 shares of company stock worth $14,916,496. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lam Research by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Lam Research by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,736 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Lam Research by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 939 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Lam Research by 4.3% during the third quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,731 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1980 by David K. Lam and headquartered in Fremont, California, the company develops and manufactures systems used in multiple stages of semiconductor device production, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, wafer cleaning and related process modules and automation.

Lam’s product portfolio covers core process technologies employed by logic and memory manufacturers, with equipment designed to support advanced-node patterning, 3D NAND and other emerging device architectures.