Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) Trading Down 7.3% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Rambus shares fell 7.3% after insider selling, closing well below the prior day’s close as trading volume came in sharply under average.
• Three directors sold stock this week: Emiko Higashi, Necip Sayiner, and Eric B. Stang collectively reduced their holdings through transactions totaling millions of dollars.
• Despite the selloff, analysts remain generally constructive on Rambus, with a Moderate Buy consensus and several firms recently raising price targets, while the company also beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations.

Shares of Rambus, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS - Get Free Report) were down 7.3% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $158.06 and last traded at $158.1810. Approximately 291,639 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,439,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.66.

Specifically, Director Emiko Higashi sold 10,000 shares of Rambus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $7,947,799.50. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Necip Sayiner sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.15, for a total transaction of $850,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,100,643.45. This represents a 21.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other Rambus news, Director Eric B. Stang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,805,828. This represents a 20.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Rambus in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rambus from $115.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Rambus from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Rambus from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rambus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rambus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.43.

Rambus Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.66 and a 200-day moving average of $107.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.47 and a beta of 1.84.

Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Rambus had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 31.90%.The company had revenue of $180.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.94 million. On average, analysts predict that Rambus, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in Rambus by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC increased its stake in Rambus by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Rambus by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 24,085 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC lifted its position in shares of Rambus by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Rambus by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 88.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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