Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $76.15, but opened at $78.89. Lam Research shares last traded at $79.23, with a volume of 1,620,426 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LRCX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $105.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Lam Research from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Lam Research from $132.50 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.59.

Lam Research Trading Up 5.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $103.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 50.60% and a net margin of 26.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lam Research Co. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $2,036,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in Lam Research by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lam Research by 899.4% during the 4th quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lam Research by 995.5% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 7,984 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers ALTUS systems to deposit conformal films for tungsten metallization applications; SABRE electrochemical deposition products for copper interconnect transition that offers copper damascene manufacturing; SOLA ultraviolet thermal processing products for film treatments; and VECTOR plasma-enhanced CVD ALD products.