Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading 2.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s share price rose 2.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $241.37 and last traded at $238.84. Approximately 7,286,952 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 12,066,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LRCX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lam Research from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $170.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.35.

Lam Research Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $298.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $227.18 and its 200 day moving average is $179.07.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 30.22% and a return on equity of 62.81%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Lam Research news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total transaction of $11,214,269.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total transaction of $7,896,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 253,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,235,848. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 130,886 shares of company stock valued at $29,658,802 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,645,427,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 352.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,695,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,344,347,000 after purchasing an additional 10,666,540 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Lam Research by 781.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,340,865 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,518,542,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053,978 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Lam Research by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,110,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,730,724,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Lam Research by 235.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,199,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $890,040,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.