Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $884.89, but opened at $909.33. Lam Research shares last traded at $905.51, with a volume of 288,362 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.26 by $0.53. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.99 EPS. Lam Research’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 29.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LRCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley raised shares of Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $870.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $825.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $950.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.41, for a total value of $5,073,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,380,648.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.41, for a total transaction of $5,073,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,380,648.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total transaction of $857,330.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,246,168.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,029 shares of company stock worth $6,559,489. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. MONECO Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,409,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $943.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $809.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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.