Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 44,863 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 26,121 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LRCX shares. Summit Insights lowered Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $98.00 price objective on Lam Research and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Argus lifted their price target on Lam Research from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Lam Research from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.52.

Lam Research Trading Up 7.7%

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $115.58 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.76. Lam Research has a 12-month low of $56.32 and a 12-month high of $115.90.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. Lam Research had a return on equity of 58.17% and a net margin of 29.07%.The company had revenue of $5.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.100-1.300 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lam Research will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 24th. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,894,585,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 6,383.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,574,691 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $980,500,000 after buying an additional 13,365,317 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,152,102 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,389,358,000 after buying an additional 8,364,375 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 1st quarter worth $604,344,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,622,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,954,188,000 after buying an additional 5,102,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

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.