The 25 research firms that cover Lam Research Co. have given the company an average rating of “Moderate Buy,” according to Bloomberg Ratings (NASDAQ: LRCX). Ten analysts recommended holding the stock, and another ten suggested buying the company. The average price estimate for the upcoming year has been set at $484.86 by brokers who have evaluated the company in the recent past.
Several professionals in equity research have recently commented on the shares of LRCX. In a research note released on Wednesday, UBS Group increased its “buy” rating from “hold” to “buy” and increased its price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $530.00. The Goldman Sachs Group maintained a “buy” rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Friday, October 14, but dropped its price objective from $504.00 to $434.00. B. Riley dropped their price goal on shares of Lam Research from $455.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 20. In a research report published on November 23, Evercore ISI set a price objective of $450.00 for Lam Research’s stock. Morgan Stanley maintained their “overweight” rating on the company in a research report published on October 20 but lowered its price target for Lam Research shares from $429.00 to $404.00.
Many hedge funds’ current ownership of the company’s stock has increased recently. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holding in Lam Research by 0.6% during the first quarter. During the most recent quarter, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in the semiconductor company by 66,400 shares, bringing the total to 11,571,398 shares, valued at $6,220,899,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Lam Research by 1.7% during the first quarter. Over the past three months, BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in the stock of the semiconductor business by 184,139 shares, bringing the total to 11,285,008 shares, valued at $6,066,932,000. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its holding in Lam Research by 27.7% during the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 2,396,878 shares of the semiconductor sector after acquiring an additional 519,679 shares during the most recent quarter valued at $877,257,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holding in Lam Research by 13.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,268,753 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, worth $830,364,000, after acquiring an additional 275,864 shares over the last three months.
Last but not least, Price T. Rowe Associates Inc. (MD) grew its stake in Lam Research by 345.3% during the second quarter. Price T. Rowe Associates Inc. now owns 1,224,808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at $521,952,000, after acquiring an additional 949,749 shares over the last three months. Institutional and hedge fund investors currently hold 80.09% of the company’s shares.
On Friday, Lam Research’s starting price on Friday was $457.67. Simple moving averages for the company’s 50-day and 200-day periods are $405.32 and $440.50, respectively. The firm has an open market value of $62.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93, and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.83, and a current ratio of 2.69. Lam Research’s scores throughout the preceding year ranged from $299.59 to $731.85, respectively.
The most recent quarterly earnings report from Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) was made public on October 19. The semiconductor industry produced earnings per share of $10.42 for the quarter, exceeding the average expectation of $9.54 by $0.88. The company’s revenue for the quarter was $5.07 billion, as opposed to the average projection of $4.91 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.06% and an equity return of 74.74%. The company’s quarterly sales climbed by 17.9% compared to last year’s last quarter. The company’s earnings per share for the same quarter a year ago were $8.36. Market experts estimate Lam Research will produce 34.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also announced a quarterly dividend that would be paid on January 4. Stockholders with records as of Wednesday, December 14, will receive a dividend payment of $1.725. The ex-dividend date for this dividend is Tuesday, December 13. With a $6.90 value and a 1.51% yearly dividend yield, Lam Research’s current dividend payout ratio is 19.79%.
The Lam Research Corporation develops, produces, sells, fixes, and maintains the equipment to process semiconductors and make integrated circuits. The company sells products for copper damascene production during copper interconnect transition using SABRE electrochemical deposition, conformal film deposition systems for tungsten metallization, SOLA ultraviolet thermal processing products for film treatments, VECTOR plasma-enhanced CVD ALD products, and SABRE electrochemical deposition products.
