Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 8.3% Following Earnings Beat

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price rose 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $81.28 and last traded at $81.36. Approximately 11,872,303 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 11,942,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.15.

The semiconductor company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 50.60%.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LRCX shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Lam Research from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lam Research to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research lowered Lam Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Lam Research from $132.50 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lam Research presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.72.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Lam Research in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lam Research by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finley Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Lam Research by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 430 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.93. The company has a market cap of $105.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.45.

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.