Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Down 6% – What’s Next?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) traded down 6% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $232.61 and last traded at $239.11. Approximately 18,587,853 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 72% from the average session volume of 10,791,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LRCX shares. Morgan Stanley set a $339.00 target price on Lam Research and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Berenberg Bank set a $420.00 price objective on Lam Research in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Lam Research from $390.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.23.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $298.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.78.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.02. Lam Research had a net margin of 32.34% and a return on equity of 72.15%. The company had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In other news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. This represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in Lam Research by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 5,576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Vann Equity Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC now owns 2,873 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 3.5% during the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Advus Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 1.0% during the second quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 1.3% in the second quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

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.