Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a positive outlook: Lam Research has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 32 analysts, with 26 buy ratings, five holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is approximately $358.97.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The semiconductor equipment maker reported $1.82 in earnings per share versus the $1.69 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 30% year over year to $6.72 billion.
• Lam Research increased its dividend: The quarterly payout was raised to $0.33 per share from $0.26, representing an annualized dividend of $1.32 and a yield of about 0.4%.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-two ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $358.9733.

A number of research firms have weighed in on LRCX. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Lam Research from $385.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lam Research from $325.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $500.00 price objective on Lam Research and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Lam Research from $370.00 to $365.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX opened at $307.65 on Tuesday. Lam Research has a 12-month low of $100.68 and a 12-month high of $438.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $384.97 billion, a PE ratio of 53.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $319.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.29.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.13. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Lam Research's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lam Research will post 9.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Lam Research's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In related news, Director Abhijit Talwalkar sold 18,282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $6,124,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 87,142 shares in the company, valued at $29,192,570. This represents a 17.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,512,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. This represents 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $26,755,370. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lam Research in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Lam Research by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation NASDAQ: LRCX is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1980 by David K. Lam and headquartered in Fremont, California, the company develops and manufactures systems used in multiple stages of semiconductor device production, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, wafer cleaning and related process modules and automation.

Lam's product portfolio covers core process technologies employed by logic and memory manufacturers, with equipment designed to support advanced-node patterning, 3D NAND and other emerging device architectures.

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