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Why Sell-Rated Lam Research (LRCX) Could Be Primed for a Comeback
Josh Enomoto - Barchart - Sat May 3, 9:15AM CDT Columnist
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Black-white bull vs bear_Image by a1vector via Shutterstock
Black-white bull vs bear_Image by a1vector via Shutterstock
A global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry, Lam Research (LRCX) plays an underappreciated but critical role for the broader technology ecosystem. While LRCX stock has fared better than many other innovators on a year-to-date basis, it has struggled over the past 52 weeks, down 18%. Making matters worse, its technical performance rates as a 64% Sell.
Fortunately, there may be better times ahead.
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Over the last 10 weeks, the bulls and bears have been locked in a fierce competition, with the pessimists taking the edge by printing a “5-5” sequence: five weeks of upside interspersed with five weeks of downside, with an overall negative trajectory across the time period.
What’s significant about this rather mundane pattern in any other security is the underlying sentiment. Whenever this sequence flashes, the following week’s long-side success ratio pops to 61.9%. Not only that, for the past one-year period, there were five 10-week sequences with a net negative trajectory, which is quite rare.
Typically, bearish-dominant streaks (either in terms of down-week volume or net trajectory) see a relatively quick counterresponse by the bulls. That didn’t happen over the past year, raising the prospects of pent-up demand.
Indeed, we’re seeing early evidence of a sentiment shift, with LRCX stock gaining over 5% in the trailing week and swinging up over 14% in the past month. Based on demand sequences, though, Lam Research could just be getting started.
Assuming the positive pathway materializes (the one with the nearly 62% chance of occurring), LRCX stock could potentially be trading around $77 at the close of May 9. By the end of May, it’s possible, though hardly guaranteed, that the equity will land at about $79.47. These numbers stem from historical trends tied to LRCX’s responses to the aforementioned 5-5 sequence.
Using the Market’s Current to Expertly Navigate LRCX Stock
With the derivatives arena representing a market within a market, forecasting future prices is never a straightforward task. Because investors must contend with non-linearity and an open system, this framework means that random events can enter the paradigm and destroy a well-crafted thesis in a nanosecond.
That’s the randomness of Wall Street that no one can escape. Fortunately, a Barchart Premier subscription can help even the odds.
One key feature with which to familiarize yourself is Barchart’s Gamma Exposure screen. By the book, gamma exposure measures the change in delta exposure for options based on changes in the underlying price. The easier way to understand gamma is that it’s essentially the option market’s current — some setups will either accelerate or drag your trade as the underlying share price moves.
As a quick summary, low gamma exposure represents a stable backdrop, with delta (or your position’s direction and speed) changing slowly. Movements are less amplified, with price action demonstrating a more natural cadence.
On the other hand, high gamma exposure is the equivalent of strong currents. Here, small movements in the share price can cause big shifts in dealer hedging. This dynamic creates a feedback loop, forcing additional hedging behaviors that push prices toward a particular trajectory. If you happen to be on the right side of this feedback loop, your position can gain value rapidly.
In the case of LRCX stock and specifically the options chain expiring May 30, gamma exposure varies across the strike prices. Up to the $75 strike price, the current is relatively calm. Between $75 and $80, though, gamma buildup is elevated. Should LRCX break into this range, the subsequent hedging behavior could potentially provide a major tailwind.
Putting It All Together
As stated earlier, LRCX stock has been printing bearishly dominated trading sequences, which is unusual given its track record. I anticipate a relatively brisk rise to above the $79 level over the next four weeks. As such, I’m intrigued by the 76/79 bull call spread expiring May 30.
This transaction involves buying the $76 call and simultaneously selling the $79 call, for a net debit paid of $139. Should LRCX stock rise through the short strike price of $79 at expiration, the maximum reward clocks in at $161, a payout of nearly 116%.
Here’s where circumstances get intriguing. Up until $75, gamma exposure is relatively light. However, above this price point to $80, the stronger currents could force a feedback loop, thus accelerating LRCX stock. Given the high-probability nature of this trading setup, Lam Research should be on your watchlist throughout this month.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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Will this respond the same as SMCI after the stock split? At the moment, not looking too good.
I'd get ETFs in industrials such as XLI, materials such as XLB, homebuilders such as XHB, water such as PHO, or FIW.
Check out etfdb.com for ETF research.
Earnings come out on Wednesday April 21st.
As stated by a financial commentator
"Morningstar has one of the most comprehensive assessments I’ve seen, incorporating historical data from past epidemics. It reads more like an article from a healthcare journal than a financial media site. Their conclusion: global GDP could take a 5.0% hit at worst this year, or a mild 0.10% ding at best.
The median and most likely scenario calls for a negative GDP impact of 1.25%.
When you’re talking about trillions in lost economic activity, every basis point counts. But a 1% to 2% deceleration in GDP is nothing we haven’t seen before. More importantly, Morningstar rates the long-term impact as negligible.
The Bright Side...
This disease will leave some scars behind. But after it has run its course, most quality companies will make a full recovery. Our economy is nothing if not resilient."
…...…….
This would particularly pertain to LRCX.
We are back to your price, a great entry point. A great stock.
Lam Research reached $344 one month ago
Now we are at $194, but that is just temporary and due to the coronavirus shutting down the company's facilities:
https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2020/03/17/lam-research-corporation-provides-business-update-for-the-fiscal-quarter-ending
The coronavirus may run its course faster than most people expect. It has already peaked, and is receding, in the countries that were first effected. Plus now the combination hydroxychloroquine—a drug used to treat malaria, and azithromycin—an antibiotic that is known to be effective against complications from bacterial lung disease, has been shown to be very effective against the effects brought on by the coronavirus.
It may take 6 to 9 months for LRCX to to get back to its regular production schedule, but after that its price should start a sustained rise and eventually pass its recent high.
$LRCX No need to stress out yet, it is still a cheap stock
It is quite surprising that today was not more of a massacre for the chip/semi sector , bargain hunters stepped in just after the open to buy up what the algos were selling and weak hands were selling. It really was not much of a surprise that AVGO had a negative outlook, what did anyone expect? Apple , Huawei and Trump is all that needs to be considered, until one or all of those factors change chips and semis will suffer. It's a matter of sticking with the better names with a reasonable p/e ratio , it must be also remembered to block out the opinions of those in the media who actually don't trade and make a living from sensationalism.
From a technical perspective we have listed on the chart the areas to watch and the supports that are currently holding.
Lam Research (LRCX) Gets Crushed After Analyst Issues Cautious View, Watch This Level
This morning, leading semiconductor equipment maker, Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) is getting hammered to the downside after an analyst issued a cautious view on shipments. The stock is trading lower by $11.82 to $187.79 a share. At this point in time, LRCX stock is testing its important 50-week moving average. This moving average has been very important for LCRX stock. The last three times the 50-week moving average has been tested it has held as major support. Should this key support level fail, then traders must look down to the $174.00 area for institutional sponsorship in LRCX stock. This level was where LRCX broke out in February 2018. Some other important stocks that are declining in sympathy to LRCX today include, Applied Materials Inc (AMAT:NASDAQ), and KLA-Tencor Corp (KLAC:NASDAQ).
Nicholas Santiago
InTheMoneyStocks
LRCX trading signals alerted traders and investors in mid-May of today's current downward trend. The Q2 and Q3 shipment decrease as well as the general volatility of the stock price added up with this one. Hope everyone caught that one and moved into the sell zone before today. #BluSignals
https://www.blusignalsystems.com/lrcx-trading-signals-send-alert-volatile-trend/
Good time to add on more.
I couldnt find any negative news on the company.
Big drop today along with a chunk of tech.
Dropped below $190 which may have been a great buy. We shall see what tomorrow brings.
Trueheart
I've been here since 132. Buy this BEAST at any price Will be 300 sometime next year . Don't look for dips. Terrific guidance
I loveee this stock.
Just keeps on going up and up and up no matter which pathetic political party is in charge.
LRCX
Technology sector is going up. Blessings.
Always be updated. Looking for better sources myself.
https://stocknewsjournal.com/2017/06/19/digging-up-the-facts-on-lam-research-corporation-lrcx/
Wo is bucking the passive month trends. Its technology is aweomes.
$LRCX DD Notes ~ http://www.ddnotesmaker.com/LRCX
bullish
buy low
$LRCX recent news/filings
## source: finance.yahoo.com
Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:28:00 GMT ~ Applied Materials, Lam Are Cash Machines, Says Nomura
[at Barrons.com] - Nomura Equity Research's Romit Shah today pounds the table for chip equipment stocks, arguing that they have not only bright prospects for sales, but are increasingly returning a greater amount of cash to shareholders. Shah's two Buy recommendations are Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX), with a $30 price target on the former and a $75 target on the latter. He rates shares of KLA-Tencor (KLAC) Neutral. On the first point, Shah thinks there will be an increase in spending on so-called wafer front-end, or WFE, equipment these vendors sell next year: the next couple years.
read full: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2014/09/16/applied-materials-lam-are-cash-machines-says-nomura/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo
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Sat, 13 Sep 2014 04:01:00 GMT ~ [$$] Lam Research Could Return 20% in a Year
[at Barrons.com] - Now, chip makers are at the point where squeezing on more circuits requires considerably more spending on chip equipment. Adjusted for acquisition costs, product write-downs, a real estate sale, and other lumpy events, earnings per share nearly doubled during the year to $4.39 a share.
read full: http://online.barrons.com/article/SB51005578970899454132304580143883492974488.html?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo
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Sat, 30 Aug 2014 17:04:10 GMT ~ LAM RESEARCH CORP Financials
read full: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=lrcx
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Thu, 28 Aug 2014 20:15:00 GMT ~ Lam Research Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend
[Marketwired] - Lam Research Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share of common stock. On an annualized basis, this will return approximately $117 million ...
read full: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lam-research-corporation-declares-quarterly-201500654.html
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Tue, 26 Aug 2014 21:02:25 GMT ~ LAM RESEARCH CORP Files SEC form 10-K, Annual Report
read full: http://biz.yahoo.com/e/140826/lrcx10-k.html
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$LRCX charts
basic chart ## source: stockcharts.com
basic chart ## source: stockscores.com
big daily chart ## source: stockcharts.com
big weekly chart ## source: stockcharts.com
$LRCX company information
## source: otcmarkets.com
Link: http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/company-info
Ticker: $LRCX
OTC Market Place: Not Available
CIK code: 0000707549
Company name: Lam Research Corp.
Company website: http://www.lamrc.com
Incorporated In: DE, USA
$LRCX share structure
## source: otcmarkets.com
Market Value: $12,309,614,250 a/o Sep 19, 2014
Shares Outstanding: 162,075,237 a/o Aug 20, 2014
Float: Not Available
Authorized Shares: Not Available
Par Value: 0.001
$LRCX extra dd links
Company name: Lam Research Corp.
Company website: http://www.lamrc.com
## STOCK DETAILS ##
After Hours Quote (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/after-hours
Option Chain (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/option-chain
Historical Prices (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=LRCX+Historical+Prices
Company Profile (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=LRCX+Profile
Industry (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/in?s=LRCX+Industry
## COMPANY NEWS ##
Market Stream (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/stream
Latest news (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/news - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=LRCX+Headlines
## STOCK ANALYSIS ##
Analyst Research (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/analyst-research
Guru Analysis (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/guru-analysis
Stock Report (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/stock-report
Competitors (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/competitors
Stock Consultant (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/stock-consultant
Stock Comparison (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/stock-comparison
Investopedia (investopedia.com): http://www.investopedia.com/markets/stocks/LRCX/?wa=0
Research Reports (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/research
Basic Tech. Analysis (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=LRCX+Basic+Tech.+Analysis
Barchart (barchart.com): http://www.barchart.com/quotes/stocks/LRCX
DTCC (dtcc.com): http://search2.dtcc.com/?q=Lam+Research+Corp.&x=10&y=8&sp_p=all&sp_f=ISO-8859-1
Spoke company information (spoke.com): http://www.spoke.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Lam+Research+Corp.
Corporation WIKI (corporationwiki.com): http://www.corporationwiki.com/search/results?term=Lam+Research+Corp.&x=0&y=0
WHOIS (domaintools.com): http://whois.domaintools.com/http://www.lamrc.com
Alexa (alexa.com): http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/http://www.lamrc.com#
Corporate website internet archive (archive.org): http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.lamrc.com
## FUNDAMENTALS ##
Call Transcripts (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/call-transcripts
Annual Report (companyspotlight.com): http://www.companyspotlight.com/library/companies/keyword/LRCX
Income Statement (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/financials?query=income-statement
Revenue/EPS (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/revenue-eps
SEC Filings (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/sec-filings
Edgar filings (sec.gov): http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000707549&owner=exclude&count=40
Latest filings (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/filings
Latest financials (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/financials
Short Interest (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/short-interest
Dividend History (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/dividend-history
RegSho (regsho.com): http://www.regsho.com/tools/symbol_stats.php?sym=LRCX&search=search
OTC Short Report (otcshortreport.com): http://otcshortreport.com/index.php?index=LRCX
Short Sales (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/short-sales
Key Statistics (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=LRCX+Key+Statistics
Insider Roster (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ir?s=LRCX+Insider+Roster
Income Statement (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=LRCX
Balance Sheet (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=LRCX
Cash Flow (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=LRCX+Cash+Flow&annual
## HOLDINGS ##
Major holdings (cnbc.com): http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/LRCX/tab/8.1
Insider transactions (yahoo.com): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/it?s=LRCX+Insider+Transactions
Insider transactions (secform4.com): http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/LRCX.htm
Insider transactions (insidercrow.com): http://www.insidercow.com/history/company.jsp?company=LRCX
Ownership Summary (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/ownership-summary
Institutional Holdings (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/institutional-holdings
Insiders (SEC Form 4) (nasdaq.com): http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/LRCX/insider-trades
Insider Disclosure (otcmarkets.com): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LRCX/insider-transactions
## SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER VARIOUS SOURCES ##
PST (pennystocktweets.com): http://www.pennystocktweets.com/stocks/profile/LRCX
Market Watch (marketwatch.com): http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/LRCX
Bloomberg (bloomberg.com): http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/LRCX:US
Morningstar (morningstar.com): http://quotes.morningstar.com/stock/s?t=LRCX
Bussinessweek (businessweek.com): http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ticker=LRCX
$LRCX DD Notes ~ http://www.ddnotesmaker.com/LRCX
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