Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 3.8% After Strong Earnings

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price shot up 3.8% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $77.48 and last traded at $75.62. 8,247,940 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 11,203,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.86.

The semiconductor company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LRCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lam Research has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total transaction of $528,928.97. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,488,315.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.60 and its 200 day moving average is $89.94.

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.