Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Down 4.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Lam Research shares fell 4.5% to $291.61 in heavy trading, with volume about 25% above average. The stock remains above its 200-day moving average but below its 50-day average.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $363.37; several analysts recently raised their targets, including Wells Fargo to $450.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, yielding about 0.4%. Insiders sold roughly $32.3 million of stock over the past 90 days, though the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) fell 4.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $278.45 and last traded at $291.61. Approximately 14,069,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 11,271,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Lam Research from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Lam Research from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Lam Research from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $363.37.

Lam Research Stock Down 4.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $364.68 billion, a PE ratio of 55.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $341.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.37.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Lam Research's payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.14, for a total transaction of $4,635,893.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,872,153.06. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 18,282 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $29,192,570. This represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,611 shares of company stock worth $32,250,190. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Lam Research in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lam Research in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lam Research by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the third quarter valued at approximately $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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