Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Down 2.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) dropped 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $73.62 and last traded at $73.69. Approximately 1,651,537 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,209,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LRCX. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lam Research to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.03.

Lam Research Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 50.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total transaction of $528,928.97. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,488,315.17. This represents a 13.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Creative Planning boosted its position in Lam Research by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 68.7% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 35,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,372,000 after purchasing an additional 14,658 shares during the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,182,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 340,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $278,165,000 after buying an additional 28,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,229,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lam Research

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.