Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Short Interest Update

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,020,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the January 31st total of 33,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 110,080 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $9,907,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,117,560. This trade represents a 38.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its position in Lam Research by 652.9% during the 4th quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 8,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,241 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY acquired a new position in Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $815,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 238,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $194,451,000 after acquiring an additional 39,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 215,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $175,800,000 after purchasing an additional 73,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LRCX traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.12. 5,168,239 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,029,709. Lam Research has a 12-month low of $68.87 and a 12-month high of $113.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.81.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 51.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Lam Research will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lam Research from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.22.

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.