Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) had its target price raised by Needham & Company LLC from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Summit Insights upgraded Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lam Research has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.55.

Lam Research Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $248.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $311.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.77. Lam Research has a twelve month low of $56.32 and a twelve month high of $251.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced 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 company had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 63.28% and a net margin of 30.22%.Lam Research’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lam Research will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In related news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was 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. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total value of $207,667.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,303.48. The trade was a 44.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 41,408 shares of company stock valued at $6,248,501 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Eagle Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth about $627,000. Aspen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Index Fund Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Lam Research by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Index Fund Advisors Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,375 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchyra Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth approximately $480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — EPS $1.27 vs. $1.17 est., revenue $5.34B (+22% Y/Y); company issued stronger-than-expected Q3 revenue and EPS guidance. PR News Release
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to robust AI-driven demand and higher bookings, prompting commentary that the quarter was “extraordinarily bullish” from some outlets — supportive for near-term revenue visibility. Barron’s: Why Earnings Were ‘Extraordinarily Bullish’
• Positive Sentiment: Large wave of analyst price-target increases and upgrades after results (JPMorgan, Citi, UBS, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, Stifel, Needham, TD Cowen, Summit upgrades), reflecting consensus optimism on demand and execution. Benzinga roundup of analyst boosts
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bull commentary (Jim Cramer) highlighting structural shortage/strong demand for Lam’s tools — supports momentum and retail/institutional interest. InsiderMonkey: Jim Cramer on Lam Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Deep-dive coverage and investor takeaways highlight expansion plans and capex exposure as Lam scales production to meet wafer-equipment demand — positive for growth but capex cadence can fluctuate results. Yahoo Finance: LRCX Q4 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions: coverage notes and some analysts caution about elevated multiples after the rally; Forbes flags the stock’s history of sharp pullbacks — risk of volatility despite strong results. Forbes: Record Highs May Face Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst (Morgan Stanley) keeps an equal-weight rating with a lower target vs. several bullish upgrades — a reminder not all houses are uniformly bullish and limiting near-term upside for cautious funds. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley note

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.