Traders Buy High Volume of Lam Research Put Options (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 87,781 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 129% compared to the average daily volume of 38,340 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LRCX shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Lam Research from $150.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $250.00 target price on Lam Research and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $113.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.52.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In other news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total value of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,677,892.20. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total value of $207,667.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at $264,303.48. The trade was a 44.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 50,418 shares of company stock worth $7,667,305 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the third quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX stock traded down $2.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $217.78. 6,881,000 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,788,952. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $176.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.46. Lam Research has a twelve month low of $56.32 and a twelve month high of $236.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.54 billion, a PE ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.04. Lam Research had a net margin of 29.66% and a return on equity of 60.60%. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Lam Research’s revenue was up 27.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Key Lam Research News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lam Research this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Lam is likely to beat Q2 estimates as AI-chip demand and rising DRAM spending should lift results — a catalyst for upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded LRCX to a Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and added it to momentum lists, reinforcing buy-side optimism and likely fueling short-term inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market headlines attribute an earlier ~5% rally to renewed AI buzz and easing tariff jitters, highlighting demand visibility for Lam’s wafer‑fabrication tools. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New Street raised Lam’s price target to $195 from $140 but kept a “neutral” rating — the PT lift is supportive, but the maintained neutral stance signals limited conviction on further near-term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry writeups (MarketBeat) highlight Lam’s high‑margin recurring revenue and strong 2025 growth, but also note analysts expect some cooling after a large rally — a medium‑term caution on valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer praised Lam as a top-quality name but warned against buying parabolic moves — positive endorsement tempered by a reminder about risk and momentum exhaustion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged that Lam underperformed peers in the session, suggesting relative weakness and possible sector rotation or profit-taking pressured the stock late in the day. Read More.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.