Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Boosts Stake in Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,019 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,429 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $10,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth $1,894,585,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Lam Research by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,622,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,954,188,000 after acquiring an additional 5,102,589 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Lam Research by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,594,574 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,029,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692,189 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Lam Research by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 9,849,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $958,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 103.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,049,460 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $296,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,842 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and strong guidance — LRCX reported $1.27 EPS and $5.34B revenue (both above estimates), and guided Q3 EPS of $1.25–1.45 with revenue above Street expectations, signaling continued robust equipment demand from AI and foundry customers. Reuters: Lam Research forecasts strong quarterly results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — A broad, near-term consensus shift higher from banks (JPMorgan, Citi, Needham, Wells Fargo, Deutsche, TD Cowen, Stifel, UBS and others) is supporting the rally by implying more upside to consensus; these moves cite stronger AI-driven bookings and expanding capacity needs. Benzinga: These Analysts Boost Their Forecasts On Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: Big-bank target lifts — Several outlets reported large raises (JPMorgan/Citigroup to $300, Wells Fargo/Deutsche/TD Cowen to ~$290, Needham to $300, Stifel/UBS higher), which can drive buying by momentum and institutional funds. Benzinga coverage of multiple price-target changes
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand and manufacturing expansion highlighted — Coverage and deep-dive pieces point to accelerating orders tied to AI chips and foundry/NAND capex, supporting revenue durability beyond a single quarter. This narrative is central to investor enthusiasm. Yahoo Finance: LRCX Q4 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary — Media and TV personalities (e.g., Jim Cramer) and outlets like Barron’s flagged Lam as a best-in-class equipment name with structural tailwinds, which can reinforce retail and momentum flows. InsiderMonkey: Jim Cramer on Lam Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $244 but kept an equal-weight rating — the new PT is slightly below the current price, which is a mixed signal: higher target versus prior but not an outright buy call. AmericanBankingNews: Morgan Stanley price target
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and volatility concerns — Coverage (Forbes and others) warns the stock is richly valued (forward P/E elevated vs. history) and has shown sharp past drawdowns; this raises risks if demand disappoints or guidance cools. Forbes: Why record highs may face a reality check
• Negative Sentiment: Concentration and cyclical risk for semiconductor equipment — Despite strong short-term prints, revenue is tied to a lumpy capex cycle; any slowdown in AI/foundry spend or supply-chain setbacks could quickly reverse sentiment. Barron’s: Why earnings were bullish but stock is volatile

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In other Lam Research news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total value of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 987,237 shares in the company, valued at $148,677,892.20. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at $264,303.48. This represents a 44.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,408 shares of company stock valued at $6,248,501. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lam Research Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $248.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.77. Lam Research Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.32 and a 1-year high of $251.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.09.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 63.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 21.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LRCX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Lam Research from $122.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Lam Research from $195.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.55.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.