Traders Buy Large Volume of Lam Research Call Options (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 34,219 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 12% compared to the typical volume of 30,525 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Lam Research from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Lam Research from $99.00 to $89.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lam Research to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $81.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Lam Research Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LRCX stock opened at $78.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.46. Lam Research has a fifty-two week low of $68.72 and a fifty-two week high of $113.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.41.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a return on equity of 50.60% and a net margin of 26.02%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Lam Research will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lam Research during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Lam Research by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research during the second quarter worth about $45,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.