Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Up 5.9% – Should You Buy?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price was up 5.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $211.50 and last traded at $211.15. Approximately 13,097,195 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 12,271,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.33.

Key Headlines Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM collaboration accelerates roadmap for advanced nodes — Lam and IBM announced a joint effort to advance sub‑1nm logic scaling (materials, processes and High‑NA EUV techniques). That directly supports Lam’s TAM at the leading edge of wafer‑fab equipment and improves its long‑term exposure to advanced logic capex. IBM and Lam press release
• Positive Sentiment: Upgraded industry outlook and higher analyst target — Barclays raised its chip‑gear spending estimates and boosted Lam’s price target (from $250 to $255), backing stronger capital spending for 2026–27 and lending near‑term demand credibility. These upgrades support earnings and multiple expansion for equipment names. Chip gear spending article Barclays price target note
• Positive Sentiment: S&P‑100 inclusion and sector rotation into equipment names — Lam’s upcoming addition to the S&P 100 (effective prior to March 23) plus improving sentiment toward AI/compute capex is prompting passive inflows and rotation back into high‑beta semiconductor‑equipment stocks. That can create incremental demand and support the share price. QuiverQuant S&P100 coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Significant drop in short interest — short interest fell ~20.7% to ~26.1M shares as of Feb. 27 (≈2.1% of float) with a ~3.0 days‑to‑cover ratio. Reduced short exposure lowers selling pressure and reduces tail risk from shorting activity. (data release)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation check after big gains — recent analysis highlights Lam’s very strong 1‑year return and a recent pullback; investors are weighing stretched multiples versus continued demand/guide. This frames the tradeoff between momentum and valuation risk. Valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and mixed institutional flows — recent disclosures show multiple insiders net selling and large institutional portfolio shifts (some big reductions and additions); heavy insider sales can be perceived as profit‑taking and may temper near‑term sentiment. Insider & institutional activity

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lam Research from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.35.

Lam Research Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $273.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $222.49 and a 200 day moving average of $171.33.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

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 shares were sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total transaction of $11,214,269.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,081,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 253,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,235,848. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in Lam Research by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth $483,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lam Research by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,190 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,301,000 after acquiring an additional 7,118 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.