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

Shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) rose 3.6% 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 traded hands during 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 research firms also recently weighed in on LRCX. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Lam Research from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC upped their target price on Lam Research from $181.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lam Research from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lam Research from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Lam Research from $175.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total value of $11,214,269.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at $242,334,371.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total value of $7,896,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 253,705 shares in the company, valued at $57,235,848. The trade was 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 in the last 90 days. 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: Q3 results beat expectations and management gave stronger-than-expected Q4 guidance (EPS range 1.50–1.80 and revenue midpoint above consensus), signaling continued AI-driven demand and margin expansion. Lam Research Reports Financial Results (PR Newswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and EPS were strong (revenue +23.8% y/y; EPS $1.47 vs. $1.36 expected) and management highlighted record support sales and inventory improvement — reinforcing a sustainment of the AI capex cycle. Yahoo: Lam Research Surprises With Q1 Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages rushed to lift price targets and ratings (examples: TD Cowen $340, JPMorgan $315, Susquehanna $385, BofA $330, multiple $300+ targets), creating strong analyst momentum that supports further upside. JPMorgan Raises Target to $315 (247WallSt)
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market action (Nasdaq strength on other chip names and Intel earnings) is supporting cyclical rallies in semiconductor-related stocks, including LRCX. Stock Market Today: Dow Slips, Nasdaq Gains (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call transcript and analyst notes provide color on market-share gains and multi‑year wafer‑fab equipment (WFE) tailwinds; these help validate the growth thesis but don’t remove execution risk. Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “crowded” positioning are the main risks cited — commentary questions whether the stock already prices in a multi‑year AI upcycle and warns the rally (~300% one‑year moves in some reports) raises entry risk. Seeking Alpha: AI Upcycle Real But Price Too Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: Several commentators ask whether it’s “too late” to buy after the rapid run-up; investors should weigh high P/E and momentum-driven positioning against durable fundamentals. Is It Too Late To Consider Lam Research? (Yahoo)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 1.8% during the first quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 4,615 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $334.40 billion, a PE ratio of 50.52, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.34 and a 200 day moving average of $197.02.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.07% and a net margin of 30.94%.The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.31%.

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.