Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Up 4.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares were up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $250.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as high as $229.57 and last traded at $217.47. Approximately 15,223,097 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 14,970,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.79.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on LRCX. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on Lam Research and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $113.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.39.

Insider Activity

In other Lam Research news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the sale, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at $264,303.48. This trade represents a 44.00% 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, insider Ava Harter sold 9,010 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.47, for a total value of $1,418,804.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 56,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,942,091.42. This trade represents a 13.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,418 shares of company stock worth $7,667,305. 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: Seeking Alpha upgraded LRCX to a Buy, citing a WFE “supercycle” that lifts wafer-fab spending forecasts and drives higher sales, margins and raised EBITDA/FCF estimates; the author sets a base-case price target of $246.84. Lam Research: Why The WFE Supercycle Changes The Valuation (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel raised its price target sharply (reported move to $250) and projects WFE spending growth of up to ~10–15% in 2026, supporting a stronger demand outlook for equipment suppliers like Lam. LRCX: Price Target Raised by Stifel
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America boosted its Lam Research price target to $245, adding another major shop to the list of higher valuations that are supporting the rally. Bank of America Increases Lam Research Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s and market coverage point to heavy TSMC/foundry spending as a sector-level catalyst boosting ASML, Lam and Applied Materials — a clear demand tailwind for equipment makers. ASML, Lam Research, Applied Materials Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Benzinga and other outlets note today’s rally is being driven by bullish analyst actions (Outperform/Buy calls) and sustained earnings outlook strength. Why Is Lam Research Stock Soaring Thursday?
• Positive Sentiment: Flows and momentum are piling into LRCX (large inflows noted since September), which amplifies price moves on positive news. See How Bullish Inflows Boost Lam Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets profile LRCX as a strong momentum candidate and summarize analyst optimism — useful context for investors but not new fundamental news. What Makes Lam Research a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Reporting on short-term volatility: LRCX recently had a larger intraday dip versus the broader market — a reminder of the stock’s higher beta. Lam Research Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks flags a risk: Lam expects China revenue to fall below 30% in 2026 as export curbs bite — a potential headwind if the company cannot offset that with non‑China AI-related demand. Will LRCX’s China Revenue Drop Below 30% Hurt 2026 Growth Outlook?

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lam Research in the third quarter worth $26,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.54. The stock has a market cap of $273.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.77.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 29.66% and a return on equity of 60.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.250 EPS. Analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.