Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $884.89, but opened at $909.33. Lam Research shares last traded at $905.51, with a volume of 288,362 shares.

The semiconductor company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.26 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 44.47% and a net margin of 24.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.99 earnings per share.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,030.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday. B. Riley raised Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $870.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lam Research from $975.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on Lam Research from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lam Research from $700.00 to $912.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $932.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christina Corrreia sold 647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total value of $628,903.41. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,541 shares in the company, valued at $5,386,018.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total value of $857,330.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,168.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Christina Corrreia sold 647 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total value of $628,903.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,386,018.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,029 shares of company stock worth $6,559,489 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research during the 3rd quarter valued at about $410,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $943.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $806.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $118.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.51.

About Lam Research

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.