Sanford C. Bernstein Downgrades Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) to Market Perform

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LRCX. B. Riley boosted their target price on Lam Research from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lam Research from $434.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Evercore ISI set a $450.00 price objective on Lam Research in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Lam Research in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $495.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Lam Research from $300.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $492.10.

Lam Research Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of Lam Research stock opened at $493.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $66.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $487.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $441.86. Lam Research has a 1-year low of $299.59 and a 1-year high of $574.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $10.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 73.48% and a net margin of 26.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Lam Research will post 33.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, EVP Richard A. Gottscho sold 3,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,593,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,002,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Richard A. Gottscho sold 3,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,593,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,002,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.72, for a total value of $378,153.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,343,526.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lam Research by 97.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 31,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,198,000 after acquiring an additional 15,539 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $1,570,000. Builder Investment Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 19,912 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,369,000 after buying an additional 6,024 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 568 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

About Lam Research

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Lam Research Corp. engages in manufacturing and servicing of wafer processing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It operates through the following geographical segments: the United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. It offers thin film deposition, plasma etch, photoresist strip, and wafer cleaning.