Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Falls 11.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s share price traded down 11.8% during trading on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $365.00 to $360.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as low as $227.68 and last traded at $230.15. Approximately 22,861,010 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 113% from the average daily volume of 10,747,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.81.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LRCX. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $385.00 target price (up from $367.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $420.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, July 30th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Lam Research from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.55.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at $12,843,056.52. This trade represents a 10.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total value of $3,007,970.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,607,966.30. This trade represents a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

More Lam Research News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Lam Research reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $8.22 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.20, exceeding consensus estimates of $8.14 billion and $2.18. Revenue increased 54.4% year over year, supported by strong systems demand, NAND spending and record foundry revenue. Lam Research Q1 Earnings Beat on Systems Sales and Margin Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability reached a record: Operating margin exceeded 40% for the first time, while management highlighted longer-term growth opportunities in AI infrastructure, memory upgrades and advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Lam Research Just Posted Its First-Ever 40% Operating Margin But Sold Off
• Positive Sentiment: Strong industry outlook: Lam expects wafer-fabrication-equipment spending to exceed $200 billion in 2027, suggesting AI-related demand and chipmakers’ capital-investment plans remain intact. Some analysts continue to rate LRCX as a buy or outperform despite reducing price targets. LRCX Q1 Earnings Call Highlights $200B-Plus WFE Outlook for 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader chip-sector pressure: Semiconductor stocks sold off broadly as investors reassessed AI spending and near-term capital-expenditure expectations, adding to the pressure on LRCX beyond company-specific concerns. Two Big Reasons Micron and Other Chip Stocks Are Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Supply bottlenecks limited the outlook: Management indicated component and production constraints are preventing the company from shipping as much equipment as demand would support. This raised concerns that near-term revenue growth could be delayed despite robust orders. Lam Research Says Supply Bottlenecks Are Holding Back Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: China revenue is expected to weaken: Lam warned that China’s contribution will decline substantially in the December quarter after accounting for about 35% of September-quarter revenue, creating an additional headwind to growth. Lam Research Stock Falls Despite Record Results
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts lowered targets: Mizuho, Morgan Stanley and Needham reduced their price targets, reflecting supply-chain and China-related risks. Although ratings remained generally bullish, the cuts signaled that analysts see less near-term upside and helped drive the post-earnings selloff. Lam Research Analysts Cut Their Forecasts Following Q1 Earnings

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,545,830 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 584,489 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 411.8% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,089,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,805,368,000 after buying an additional 8,922,854 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,147,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,168,107,000 after buying an additional 1,942,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,265,026 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,975,244,000 after buying an additional 181,087 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Trading Down 11.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $306.08 and its 200 day moving average is $309.80. The stock has a market cap of $288.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.85.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%. The company had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used to fabricate integrated circuits. Its technologies support key stages of wafer processing, helping semiconductor manufacturers create the increasingly complex structures found in memory, logic and other types of chips.

The company’s product portfolio includes etch systems, which selectively remove materials from wafers; deposition systems, which apply thin films; and cleaning solutions used to remove contaminants and residue during manufacturing.