Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) Shares Up 7.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Rambus shares jumped 7.9% on Thursday, trading as high as $119.82, although volume was well below normal at about 441,000 shares versus a 2.68 million average.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $130.43. Recent targets ranged from $120 to $172, even after one downgrade to neutral.
• Rambus recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS versus $0.61 expected, while revenue came in slightly above estimates at $180.19 million. Insiders have also been selling shares, including notable sales by directors Emiko Higashi and Meera Rao.

Rambus, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS - Get Free Report) traded up 7.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $119.82 and last traded at $118.3490. Approximately 441,058 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,676,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Rambus in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Rambus from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rambus from $115.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Rambus from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Rambus in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.43.

Rambus Stock Up 6.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.58 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.60.

Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Rambus had a net margin of 31.90% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $180.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.94 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Rambus, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rambus news, Director Emiko Higashi sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.50, for a total value of $1,605,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,947,799.50. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Meera Rao sold 2,972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.30, for a total value of $446,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,002,092.20. This trade represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 74,424 shares of company stock valued at $11,179,633 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RMBS. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rambus during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rambus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Rambus by 199.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Rambus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rambus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 88.54% of the company's stock.

About Rambus

Rambus Inc is a technology licensing company specializing in semiconductor and system-level interface solutions. Founded in 1990 by Stanford University researchers Mike Farmwald and Mark Horowitz, Rambus established its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The company initially gained prominence by developing high-speed DRAM interface technology and securing a broad patent portfolio covering memory architecture, data signaling and power management innovations.

Today, Rambus licenses its proprietary intellectual property (IP) to semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators worldwide.

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