Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2027 earnings estimates for Lam Research in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now expects that the semiconductor company will post earnings per share of $7.02 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.00. The consensus estimate for Lam Research’s current full-year earnings is $3.71 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LRCX. Mizuho set a $265.00 target price on Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $181.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lam Research presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.35.

Lam Research Stock Down 9.4%

LRCX stock opened at $211.62 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $228.05 and a 200 day moving average of $180.61. The firm has a market cap of $264.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.77. Lam Research has a twelve month low of $56.32 and a twelve month high of $256.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total transaction of $7,896,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 253,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,235,848. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 1,500 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.66, for a total transaction of $333,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,846,625.30. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in Lam Research by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank lifted its stake in Lam Research by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 4,615 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Lam Research by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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: Erste Group slightly raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Lam (from $7.00 to $7.02), signaling continued analyst confidence in Lam’s longer‑term profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish research pieces argue Lam is positioned for continued growth due to rising chip process complexity and AI-driven capital expenditures — supportive for medium/long-term revenue and margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investment letters and coverage (e.g., Renaissance in a large‑cap growth strategy) highlight Lam’s exposure to growing chip complexity, a structural tailwind for deposition/etch equipment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/flow-driven buying signals have supported the stock recently (not fundamental-driven), which can amplify short-term rallies. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry note: Applied Materials stands to benefit from rising HBM and advanced packaging demand — an industry tailwind that should also help Lam over time, though AMAT‑specific coverage may not translate directly into immediate upside for LRCX. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation write‑ups ask whether recent multi‑year gains already price in Lam’s growth; useful for timing entries but not a near‑term catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate negative: investors sold LRCX after news that Google’s TurboQuant can significantly reduce memory requirements for AI models. That development raises short‑term uncertainty around demand for HBM and packaging — key end markets for advanced wafer‑fab equipment. This appears to be the primary driver of today’s pullback. Read More.

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.