Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price dropped 2.9% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $308.01 and last traded at $309.56. Approximately 6,079,867 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 10,672,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.84.

Key Lam Research News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Lam Research’s longer-term earnings outlook. Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $9.40 from $9.34 and its FY2028 forecast to $11.99 from $11.68, while DBS Bank lifted its price target to $416. MarketBeat analyst estimates DBS Bank price target article
• Positive Sentiment: The Wall Street consensus target implies approximately 25.6% upside. Zacks notes, however, that price targets alone have limited predictive value; improving earnings estimates are a more constructive signal. Zacks analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research’s latest reported quarter showed record revenue, operating margin and EPS, with quarterly revenue rising 30% year over year to $6.72 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.82, above expectations. Management also provided strong forward guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on the company’s upcoming earnings report and conference call, which could provide an important test of AI-related wafer-fabrication spending and Lam’s outlook for fiscal 2027. Lam Research earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares, including Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials, have retreated as investors lock in gains and reassess elevated AI-related valuations ahead of industry earnings. Lam’s high valuation and sensitivity to wafer-fab spending cycles may amplify that volatility. Semiconductor equipment selloff article
• Negative Sentiment: Lam Research shares have declined for seven consecutive sessions. Reported insider activity also shows selling without purchases over the past six months, which may add to investor caution, although these transactions do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals. Lam Research seven-session decline article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LRCX. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lam Research from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.59.

Lam Research Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $310.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market cap of $359.06 billion, a PE ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.85.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This trade represents a 31.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,512,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at $12,843,056.52. This trade represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Lam Research by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,704,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,320,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545,830 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Lam Research by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,821,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,906,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638,406 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,244,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,872,426,000 after acquiring an additional 584,489 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 411.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,089,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,805,368,000 after acquiring an additional 8,922,854 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,147,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,168,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942,862 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research Corporation is a semiconductor equipment company that designs, manufactures, and services systems used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic devices. Its equipment supports key steps in the wafer manufacturing process, helping semiconductor producers create increasingly small and complex features on silicon wafers.

The company’s portfolio includes systems for etch, deposition, wafer cleaning, surface preparation, and related manufacturing processes.