Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Short Interest Up 1,365.0% in September

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 32,230,000 shares, a growth of 1,365.0% from the September 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LRCX traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.89. 6,528,893 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,962,768. Lam Research has a 12 month low of $57.44 and a 12 month high of $113.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 3.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.32.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 48.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lam Research will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 3.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $880.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley increased their price target on Lam Research from $113.00 to $132.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Lam Research from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total transaction of $528,928.97. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,315.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at about $192,668,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 24.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 968,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $940,592,000 after acquiring an additional 191,230 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,856,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,519,576,000 after acquiring an additional 144,914 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Lam Research by 5.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,959,151 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,875,023,000 after buying an additional 142,903 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis raised its stake in shares of Lam Research by 1,267.1% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 142,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $138,902,000 after buying an additional 132,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.