Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Up 2.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $241.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $225.35 and last traded at $222.87. 10,138,137 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 13,777,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.94.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LRCX. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.81.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total value of $207,667.02. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 987,237 shares in the company, valued at $148,677,892.20. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,408 shares of company stock worth $6,248,501 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter worth $26,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $179.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.09, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.77.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.