Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Down to $769.72

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $769.72, but opened at $751.46. Lam Research shares last traded at $750.40, with a volume of 32,810 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,015.63.

Lam Research Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $98.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $868.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $932.18.

Lam Research shares are scheduled to split on the morning of Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.58 by $0.56. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 48.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

Lam Research announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,055.76, for a total value of $4,654,845.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,239,346.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy Archer sold 9,650 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,070.39, for a total transaction of $10,329,263.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,596,739.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,055.76, for a total transaction of $4,654,845.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,857 shares in the company, valued at $7,239,346.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.