Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading Up 2.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $244.00 to $254.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $256.68 and last traded at $249.48. 9,417,542 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 12,522,450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.25.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $175.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Lam Research from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.19.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In other news, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total value of $7,896,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 253,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,235,848. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 590.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after purchasing an additional 50,933 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in Lam Research by 52.0% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 262,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,417,000 after buying an additional 89,856 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 8.0% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 140,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,804,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 144,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,369,000 after acquiring an additional 34,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 119.6% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,676,637 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $224,502,000 after acquiring an additional 913,009 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $214.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.78.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. Lam Research had a return on equity of 62.81% and a net margin of 30.22%.The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is 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.