Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) Shares Up 5.2% – Still a Buy?

Rambus, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) shares were up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $94.00 and last traded at $94.4550. Approximately 1,339,075 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 2,573,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RMBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of Rambus from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rambus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Rambus in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Rambus to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Rambus from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.71.

Rambus Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.16 and its 200-day moving average is $97.61.

Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68. The company had revenue of $190.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.21 million. Rambus had a net margin of 32.57% and a return on equity of 17.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rambus, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Desmond Lynch sold 4,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.53, for a total value of $433,837.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 63,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,459,135.54. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Luc Seraphin sold 39,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.63, for a total value of $3,936,717.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 331,070 shares in the company, valued at $32,653,434.10. This trade represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rambus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rambus by 22,321.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 9,375 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Rambus by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,750 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 5,783 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Rambus by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 309,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,025,000 after acquiring an additional 19,120 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rambus during the 1st quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Rambus by 218.6% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 12,371 shares during the last quarter. 88.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rambus

Rambus Inc is a technology licensing company specializing in semiconductor and system-level interface solutions. Founded in 1990 by Stanford University researchers Mike Farmwald and Mark Horowitz, Rambus established its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The company initially gained prominence by developing high-speed DRAM interface technology and securing a broad patent portfolio covering memory architecture, data signaling and power management innovations.

Today, Rambus licenses its proprietary intellectual property (IP) to semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators worldwide.