Empire Life Investments Inc. Acquires 16,385 Shares of Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 319,892 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,385 shares during the period. Lam Research comprises approximately 3.1% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $54,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LRCX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 781.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,340,865 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,518,542,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053,978 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 18.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,182,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,836,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,658 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 108.7% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,526,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $606,045,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,897 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,541,230 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $472,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,749 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 1,925.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,717,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $294,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target on Lam Research to $375 from $350 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling further upside as analysts see strong execution and demand momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $300 target, citing Lam Research’s favorable positioning as wafer fabrication investment strengthens.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Lam Research’s gross margin nearing 50%, with guidance implying about 50.5%, suggesting strong pricing power and efficient operations amid AI-related demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the memory-chip shortage noted that tighter supply is pushing customers to invest more in equipment and infrastructure, which could support orders for Lam Research tools.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to rising AI infrastructure spending, advanced packaging demand, and foundry expansion as broader tailwinds for semiconductor equipment names like LRCX.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lam Research has also been featured in several valuation and “top stock” pieces, reinforcing positive sentiment but not adding new company-specific fundamentals.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Lam Research from $265.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore raised their target price on Lam Research from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Lam Research from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, New Street Research increased their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.14, for a total value of $4,635,893.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,129 shares in the company, valued at $16,872,153.06. This represents a 21.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 120,066 shares of company stock valued at $27,953,242 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

LRCX stock opened at $289.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.13. The company has a market capitalization of $361.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Lam Research Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.49 and a fifty-two week high of $300.00.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 30.94% and a return on equity of 66.21%. Lam Research’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.