Lam Research Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 28,177 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 91% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,764 call options.

Lam Research Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LRCX traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $85.63. 5,325,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,934,309. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.14, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Lam Research has a 1 year low of $57.44 and a 1 year high of $113.00.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 48.71%. Lam Research’s revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.38%.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In other news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total value of $528,928.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,315.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Lam Research by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LRCX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Lam Research from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $880.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Lam Research from $92.90 to $77.40 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lam Research currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.28.

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.