Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) versus Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) Head to Head Contrast

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Lam Research and Lattice Semiconductor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lam Research	0	8	26	0	2.76
Lattice Semiconductor	0	2	13	0	2.87

Lam Research presently has a consensus price target of $285.94, indicating a potential upside of 11.36%. Lattice Semiconductor has a consensus price target of $104.07, indicating a potential downside of 13.96%. Given Lam Research’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Lam Research is more favorable than Lattice Semiconductor.

Risk and Volatility

Lam Research has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lattice Semiconductor has a beta of 1.76, meaning that its stock price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.6% of Lam Research shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.1% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Lam Research shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Lam Research and Lattice Semiconductor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lam Research	30.94%	66.21%	31.61%
Lattice Semiconductor	0.59%	5.60%	4.69%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lam Research and Lattice Semiconductor”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lam Research	$18.44 billion	17.42	$5.36 billion	$5.30	48.45
Lattice Semiconductor	$523.26 million	31.64	$3.08 million	$0.02	6,048.00

Lam Research has higher revenue and earnings than Lattice Semiconductor. Lam Research is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lattice Semiconductor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lam Research beats Lattice Semiconductor on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides SPEED gapfill high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition products; and Striker single-wafer atomic layer deposition products for dielectric film solutions. In addition, the company offers Flex for dielectric etch applications; Kiyo for conductor etch applications; Syndion for through-silicon via etch applications; and Versys metal products for metal etch processes. Further, it provides Coronus bevel clean products to enhance die yield; Da Vinci, DV-Prime, EOS, and SP series products to address various wafer cleaning applications; and Metryx mass metrology systems for high precision in-line mass measurement in semiconductor wafer manufacturing. The company sells its products and services to semiconductors industry in the United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops and sells semiconductor products in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company offers field programmable gate arrays that consist of four product families, including the Lattice Certus and ECP, Mach, iCE, and CrossLink. It also provides video connectivity application specific standard products. In addition, the company licenses its technology portfolio through standard IP and IP core licensing, patent monetization, and IP services. It sells its products directly to customers, and indirectly through a network of independent manufacturers' representatives and independent distributors. The company primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the communications and computing, consumer, and industrial, and automotive markets. Lattice Semiconductor Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.