Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 5% After Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $325.00 to $350.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $259.00 and last traded at $258.76. 9,622,473 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 11,650,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.49.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $195.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $165.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lam Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lam Research has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ava Harter sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.50, for a total value of $930,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,718,912.50. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 130,886 shares of company stock valued at $29,658,802 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target to $350 and kept a “positive” rating — a clear near-term catalyst that boosts upside expectations and helps explain buying interest. Susquehanna price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analyst support (Morgan Stanley and other upgrades) and coverage noting Lam’s growth profile are driving momentum and inflows. Recent item-level upgrades pushed sentiment across the sell‑side more positive. Morgan Stanley forecast / analyst upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals supporting the rally: Q2 fiscal 2026 revenue beat and management commentary on AI-driven demand. Investors are treating Lam as a core beneficiary of stronger capex for advanced logic/AI chips. Q2 results and AI demand summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are in focus — multiple pieces reassess LRCX after a large one‑year run (questions about whether the rally is fully priced). That keeps trading volatile even as fundamentals look strong. Valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market swings tied to geopolitical headlines (US–Iran ceasefire optimism ebbing) are creating mixed tape conditions for tech stocks; macro noise can amplify intra‑day moves in LRCX. Market context – US‑Iran ceasefire news
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling has been reported (multiple executives selling sizable blocks), which some investors view as a cautionary sign despite institutional buying elsewhere. Insider selling details
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded LRCX from “strong-buy” to “hold,” highlighting that not all research houses see further near-term upside and reinforcing the valuation risk narrative. Zacks downgrade

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Lam Research by 1,032.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Lam Research in the first quarter worth about $239,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter worth about $253,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter worth about $318,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lam Research by 2.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 100,528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,785,000 after buying an additional 2,661 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lam Research Trading Up 5.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $323.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $227.04 and its 200-day moving average is $188.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 30.22% and a return on equity of 62.81%. The company had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Lam Research’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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.