Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Lam Research Corporation's stock price increased by 3% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $104.03 and closing at $105.09, despite a significant drop in trading volume compared to the average.
• Various analysts have provided mixed ratings and price targets for Lam Research, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $107.09.
• The company reported earnings surpassing expectations, with an EPS of $1.33 and revenue of $5.17 billion, reflecting a year-over-year revenue growth of 33.6%.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) shot up 3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $104.03 and last traded at $105.09. 1,787,903 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,890,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $98.00 target price on shares of Lam Research and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lam Research from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lam Research has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.09.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $136.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.35 and its 200-day moving average is $83.35.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.12. Lam Research had a net margin of 29.07% and a return on equity of 58.17%. The business had revenue of $5.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.12%.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Lam Research by 950.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,543,915 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,495,128,000 after acquiring an additional 31,255,726 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter valued at about $1,894,585,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 1,067.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,869,244 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,146,235,000 after purchasing an additional 14,509,407 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 6,383.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,574,691 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $980,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,365,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at about $792,161,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers ALTUS systems to deposit conformal films for tungsten metallization applications; SABRE electrochemical deposition products for copper interconnect transition that offers copper damascene manufacturing; SOLA ultraviolet thermal processing products for film treatments; and VECTOR plasma-enhanced CVD ALD products.