Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading Up 6.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) was up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after New Street Research raised their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $235.00. New Street Research currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $213.84 and last traded at $213.66. Approximately 11,528,432 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 11,993,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.93.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LRCX. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citic Securities raised their price objective on Lam Research from $165.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lam Research from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lam Research has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total transaction of $11,214,269.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.50, for a total value of $930,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,705 shares in the company, valued at $12,718,912.50. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

Here are the key news stories impacting Lam Research this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and research pieces highlight Lam’s strong positioning in AI-driven chip demand and operational improvements, supporting a longer-term bullish case. Lam Research: Poised For Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets are featuring Lam as a top long-term pick, reinforcing positive analyst attention that can help sentiment into the next quarter. Why Lam Research (LRCX) is a Top Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: New Street raised Lam’s price target to $235 (from $140) but kept a “neutral” rating — the higher target is supportive, but the unchanged stance limits immediate bullish impact. New Street Adjusts Price Target on Lam Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Lam scheduled its March-quarter earnings call for April 22 — a near-term event that will likely drive volatility as investors focus on bookings, guidance and China exposure. Lam Research Announces March Quarter Financial Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Lam from “buy” to “hold” — analyst rating cuts can pressure shares by reducing investor conviction and fund demand. Erste Group Downgrades Lam Research
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. lawmakers proposed legislation to tighten exports of chipmaking tools to China. Broader export-control risks create uncertainty for equipment suppliers with China exposure and could constrain revenue visibility. US Lawmakers Propose Crackdown on Chip Tool Sales to China
• Negative Sentiment: Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio trimmed his Lam position, which can be interpreted as reduced confidence from a large institutional holder and may weigh on sentiment. Ray Dalio Trims Stake in Lam Research

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lam Research by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,974,214 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,537,447,000 after buying an additional 364,949 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,817,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,024,684,000 after acquiring an additional 265,805 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,747,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,764,117,000 after acquiring an additional 126,613 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,821,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,906,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,645,427,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $272.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.75, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.05 and a 200-day moving average of $183.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 30.22% and a return on equity of 62.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.31%.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1980 by David K. Lam and headquartered in Fremont, California, the company develops and manufactures systems used in multiple stages of semiconductor device production, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, wafer cleaning and related process modules and automation.

Lam’s product portfolio covers core process technologies employed by logic and memory manufacturers, with equipment designed to support advanced-node patterning, 3D NAND and other emerging device architectures.