Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $74.51, but opened at $77.45. Lam Research shares last traded at $75.23, with a volume of 3,161,825 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LRCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Lam Research from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lam Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lam Research from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Lam Research to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.77.

Lam Research Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.15. The company has a market capitalization of $96.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 50.9% during the fourth 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 raised its position in Lam Research by 900.0% during the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finley Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Lam Research by 900.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 430 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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