Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Down 2.1% - Time to Sell?

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $75.85 and last traded at $76.67. Approximately 2,082,154 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,247,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LRCX. StockNews.com cut Lam Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Lam Research from $99.00 to $89.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lam Research from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.03.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.47.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.85 earnings per share. Lam Research's revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Lam Research's payout ratio is presently 3.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lam Research news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total transaction of $528,928.97. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,315.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in Lam Research by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 812 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lam Research by 3.7% in the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 335 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.