Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 3.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price rose 3.6% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $260.00 to $293.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $275.84 and last traded at $267.78. Approximately 12,031,181 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 11,320,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.56.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lam Research from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $265.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $181.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lam Research news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at $242,334,371.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 253,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,235,848. The trade was a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lam Research News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations (EPS $1.47, revenue $5.84B) and management gave strong FY guidance tied to AI demand — investors view this as confirmation of a multi-year WFE upcycle. Earnings & press coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Major analysts have lifted price targets across the board (examples: TD Cowen $340, Susquehanna $385, JPMorgan $315, BofA $330), signaling upgraded revenue and margin forecasts driven by AI memory and logic chip spending. Analyst target upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Several bank research notes reiterated buy/outperform ratings and sizable upside, reinforcing momentum and prompting institutional buyers to add exposure. Deutsche Bank price target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad market action (Dow slip while Nasdaq gains) and strong moves in other chip names (Intel, AMD, Arm) contributed to sector flow into semiconductor-equipment names including LRCX. Market breadth coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Not all firms moved to buy: a few kept neutral/equal-weight stances (e.g., Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas), showing some analysts want to see more cycles of delivery before upgrading conviction. Morgan Stanley note
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: commentary and analysis warn the stock reflects a lot of AI upside already — some investors may view multiple and momentum as stretched, which could amplify pullbacks on any growth-slow surprises. Valuation caution analysis

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $234.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.84. The firm has a market cap of $334.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.52, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.78.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. Lam Research had a return on equity of 66.21% and a net margin of 30.94%.The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.