Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares dropped 4.7% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $284.75 and last traded at $286.92. 10,314,642 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 10,658,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $301.11.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Lam Research’s longer-term earnings outlook. Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $9.40 from $9.34 and its FY2028 forecast to $11.99 from $11.68, while DBS Bank lifted its price target to $416. MarketBeat analyst estimates DBS Bank price target article
• Positive Sentiment: The Wall Street consensus target implies approximately 25.6% upside. Zacks notes, however, that price targets alone have limited predictive value; improving earnings estimates are a more constructive signal. Zacks analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research’s latest reported quarter showed record revenue, operating margin and EPS, with quarterly revenue rising 30% year over year to $6.72 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.82, above expectations. Management also provided strong forward guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on the company’s upcoming earnings report and conference call, which could provide an important test of AI-related wafer-fabrication spending and Lam’s outlook for fiscal 2027. Lam Research earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares, including Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials, have retreated as investors lock in gains and reassess elevated AI-related valuations ahead of industry earnings. Lam’s high valuation and sensitivity to wafer-fab spending cycles may amplify that volatility. Semiconductor equipment selloff article
• Negative Sentiment: Lam Research shares have declined for seven consecutive sessions. Reported insider activity also shows selling without purchases over the past six months, which may add to investor caution, although these transactions do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals. Lam Research seven-session decline article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LRCX shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Lam Research from $305.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $364.59.

Lam Research Trading Down 4.7%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $310.95 and a 200-day moving average of $307.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $359.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.81, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.85.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. Lam Research’s revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is a boost from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other Lam Research news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. The trade was a 31.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,843,056.52. This trade represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 3.2% during the third quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 7,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. N10 Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lam Research by 25.2% during the third quarter. N10 Wealth LLC now owns 42,491 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,959,000 after buying an additional 8,548 shares in the last quarter. N10 Assets LLC raised its position in Lam Research by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. N10 Assets LLC now owns 36,940 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,135,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Lam Research by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XY Planning Network Inc. lifted its stake in Lam Research by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation is a semiconductor equipment company that designs, manufactures, and services systems used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic devices. Its equipment supports key steps in the wafer manufacturing process, helping semiconductor producers create increasingly small and complex features on silicon wafers.

The company’s portfolio includes systems for etch, deposition, wafer cleaning, surface preparation, and related manufacturing processes.