Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $257.60 and last traded at $253.82. Approximately 10,715,873 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 10,742,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LRCX. Morgan Stanley set a $339.00 price target on Lam Research and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lam Research from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Lam Research from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.23.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.48. The company has a market cap of $298.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $294.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.78.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02. Lam Research had a return on equity of 72.15% and a net margin of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Lam Research’s revenue was up 54.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.67%.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In other Lam Research news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,512,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This trade represents a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. William Mack & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA acquired a new stake in Lam Research during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its position in Lam Research by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Bravera Wealth bought a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used to fabricate integrated circuits. Its technologies support key stages of wafer processing, helping semiconductor manufacturers create the increasingly complex structures found in memory, logic and other types of chips.

The company’s product portfolio includes etch systems, which selectively remove materials from wafers; deposition systems, which apply thin films; and cleaning solutions used to remove contaminants and residue during manufacturing.