Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Lam Research shares gapped up 7.5% after Mizuho raised its price target from $380 to $400 and kept an outperform rating. The stock opened at $365.13 versus the prior close of $333.15.
• Several other analysts have also lifted targets recently, including Rothschild & Co Redburn, Susquehanna, Stifel Nicolaus, and Citigroup, reinforcing a broadly bullish view. Overall, the stock now has 28 Buy ratings and six Hold ratings, with a MarketBeat average rating of Moderate Buy.
• Lam Research’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.47 and revenue of $5.84 billion, both ahead of estimates. The company also reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 23.8% and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $380.00 to $400.00. The stock had previously closed at $333.15, but opened at $365.13. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lam Research shares last traded at $364.9540, with a volume of 2,464,007 shares.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LRCX. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Lam Research from $305.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $221.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In other news, Director Eric Brandt sold 54,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.80, for a total value of $19,118,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 199,205 shares in the company, valued at $69,881,114. This represents a 21.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 7,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.60, for a total value of $2,371,226.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 58,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,102,312. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,339 shares of company stock worth $27,680,267. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

Lam Research Trading Up 7.5%

The stock has a market cap of $447.92 billion, a PE ratio of 67.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $330.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.73.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.70 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 66.21% and a net margin of 30.94%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

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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