Lam Research Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 16,299 call options on the company. This is an increase of 39% compared to the typical volume of 11,764 call options.

Lam Research Trading Down 2.4 %

LRCX stock opened at $827.12 on Friday. Lam Research has a 52 week low of $574.42 and a 52 week high of $1,130.00. The company has a market capitalization of $108.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $819.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $921.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.97.

Shares of Lam Research are set to split before the market opens on Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.58 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is 33.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Lam Research from $865.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,050.00 to $950.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,250.00 to $1,150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,012.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lam Research news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total value of $1,712,323.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,535,456.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total value of $687,282.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,219,945.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total transaction of $1,712,323.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,237 shares in the company, valued at $5,535,456.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.