Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $305.36 and last traded at $307.42. 8,647,023 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 11,425,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $317.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Lam Research from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lam Research from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Lam Research from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on Lam Research from $385.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lam Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.47.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.42. The firm has a market cap of $389.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 7,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.60, for a total value of $2,371,226.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 58,470 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,312. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 54,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.80, for a total value of $19,118,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 199,205 shares in the company, valued at $69,881,114. This represents a 21.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 80,441 shares of company stock valued at $27,614,296 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth about $2,730,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,881,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth about $16,922,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,777,585,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.