Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Lam Research shares jumped about 7% after Evercore ISI raised its price target to $241 (maintaining an "outperform" rating); the stock traded as high as $239.50 and last at $238.46 on roughly 11.86M shares (volume down ~13% vs. average).
• Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $202.81, though several firms have higher targets (e.g., RBC $260) and most analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy.
• Insiders sold about 41,408 shares valued at roughly $6.25M in the last quarter (insiders now own 0.31%), while institutional investors own about 84.61% of Lam Research, with major funds like Vanguard and State Street increasing stakes.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 7% on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $241.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $239.50 and last traded at $238.46. Approximately 11,857,319 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 13,693,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.87.

LRCX has been the subject of several other research reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $260.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $113.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Lam Research from $80.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,303.48. The trade was a 44.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total value of $6,036,048.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares in the company, valued at $148,677,892.20. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,408 shares of company stock valued at $6,248,501. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,974,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $17,537,447,000 after buying an additional 364,949 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Lam Research by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,817,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,024,684,000 after acquiring an additional 265,805 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Lam Research by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,622,437 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,954,188,000 after acquiring an additional 5,102,589 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lam Research by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,802,736 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,280,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,405 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,182,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,836,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $179.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.73. The firm has a market cap of $299.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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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