Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading 3.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) rose 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday 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 $225.50 and last traded at $222.01. Approximately 10,668,970 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 11,977,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.66.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LRCX. HSBC lifted their price objective on Lam Research from $181.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lam Research from $170.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lam Research from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.35.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,081,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 sale, the insider owned 54,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,718,912.50. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 130,886 shares of company stock valued at $29,658,802 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

More Lam Research News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target lift — New Street Research raised its price target to $235 from $140 (while keeping a “neutral” rating), signalling higher near‑term valuation expectations that can support the stock. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Positive fundamental commentary — Recent analyst pieces and research note Lam as a long‑term winner from AI-driven semiconductor investment, highlighting strong margins, inventory/cash‑cycle improvements and capacity expansion that support higher profitability. Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Solid recent operating/earnings backdrop — Coverage notes strong Q4 demand and improved results (revenue and margins), which underpin investor confidence in the company’s ability to capture AI and foundry capex. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly conference call set for April 22 — Management will host the March‑quarter call and webcast; investors will look for guidance detail and order trends. Timing of commentary can cause near‑term volatility but is routine. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum — Broader AI and memory demand stories (e.g., Micron) are lifting semiconductor equipment sentiment, a tailwind for Lam but not company‑specific news. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Helium / critical‑gas supply risk — Reports flag a Middle East helium shock that could constrain semiconductor gas supplies; disruptions would hurt Lam’s ability to service customers and could pressure delivery/timing. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and industry R&D moves — Rivals like Applied Materials are deepening AI‑centric product portfolios; competition and faster innovation cycles can affect share and margin dynamics over time. Yahoo Finance – AMAT

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Trading Up 3.9%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.18 and a 200 day moving average of $183.68. The stock has a market cap of $277.24 billion, a PE ratio of 45.49, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.26.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. The company 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 62.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.31%.

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.