B. Riley Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price

Key Points

• B. Riley cut its Lam Research price target from $338 to $310 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 44.23% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $357.57, with 26 Buy and six Hold ratings.
• Lam Research narrowly beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 54.4% year over year. Its board also authorized a $25 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 9% of shares.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $338.00 to $310.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. B. Riley Financial's price target points to a potential upside of 44.23% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HSBC restated a "hold" rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Evercore set a $315.00 price objective on Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Lam Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $339.00 target price on Lam Research and gave the company an "overweight" rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.57.

Lam Research Price Performance

LRCX traded up $14.50 on Monday, hitting $214.94. 1,560,194 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,896,967. Lam Research has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $438.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.67. The stock has a market cap of $268.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.97.

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

Lam Research announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total value of $3,007,970.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This represents a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,704,130 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,320,468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545,830 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 5.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,244,147 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,872,426,000 after buying an additional 584,489 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 411.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,089,395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,805,368,000 after buying an additional 8,922,854 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 23.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,147,479 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,168,107,000 after buying an additional 1,942,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Lam Research by 2.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,265,026 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,975,244,000 after buying an additional 181,087 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company's stock.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research is a global supplier of equipment and services used to manufacture semiconductors. Its products help chipmakers create and process the microscopic structures that form integrated circuits.

The company's wafer fabrication equipment is used for processes including etch, thin-film deposition and wafer cleaning. Lam also provides services such as equipment maintenance, upgrades, spare parts and other support for chip manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fremont, California, Lam Research serves semiconductor manufacturers around the world.

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