Lam Research Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 87,781 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 129% compared to the average volume of 38,340 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at $264,303.48. This trade represents a 44.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total transaction of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,677,892.20. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 50,418 shares of company stock valued at $7,667,305 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,944 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 604.6% in the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,762 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,527,000 after purchasing an additional 12,667 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 60,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,324,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $195.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.52.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

Here are the key news stories impacting Lam Research this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Lam is likely to beat Q2 estimates as AI-chip demand and rising DRAM spending should lift results — a catalyst for upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded LRCX to a Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and added it to momentum lists, reinforcing buy-side optimism and likely fueling short-term inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market headlines attribute an earlier ~5% rally to renewed AI buzz and easing tariff jitters, highlighting demand visibility for Lam’s wafer?fabrication tools. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New Street raised Lam’s price target to $195 from $140 but kept a “neutral” rating — the PT lift is supportive, but the maintained neutral stance signals limited conviction on further near-term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry writeups (MarketBeat) highlight Lam’s high?margin recurring revenue and strong 2025 growth, but also note analysts expect some cooling after a large rally — a medium?term caution on valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer praised Lam as a top-quality name but warned against buying parabolic moves — positive endorsement tempered by a reminder about risk and momentum exhaustion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged that Lam underperformed peers in the session, suggesting relative weakness and possible sector rotation or profit-taking pressured the stock late in the day. Read More.

Lam Research Stock Performance

LRCX traded down $2.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $217.78. 6,881,000 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,788,952. Lam Research has a one year low of $56.32 and a one year high of $236.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $176.68 and its 200 day moving average is $140.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $273.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.77.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 29.66% and a return on equity of 60.60%. Lam Research’s quarterly revenue was up 27.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lam Research will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

About Lam Research

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.