Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $312.76 and last traded at $315.84. 5,443,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 10,887,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.42.

Lam Research News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts call for wafer-fabrication-equipment spending to rise 16.9% to $135.2 billion in 2026. Faster growth in DRAM and NAND investment, fueled by artificial intelligence demand for high-bandwidth memory and advanced storage, could benefit Lam Research because of its significant memory exposure. 3 Chip Equipment Stocks Set to Win the Memory Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research returned $5.12 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026 through buybacks and dividends, including a 27% dividend increase. Strong capital returns may support investor confidence. Lam Research Returns $5B+ to Shareholders in FY26
• Positive Sentiment: Conference commentary and investor coverage highlight Lam’s competitive positioning and wide economic moat. Its latest quarterly results also exceeded expectations, with earnings of $1.82 per share and revenue of $6.72 billion, up 30% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lam Research presented at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, but the available transcript details do not identify a specific new announcement likely to materially change near-term estimates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares, suggesting no measurable short-selling pressure, although the data appears questionable because it also showed zero days to cover.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares for approximately $3.0 million, reducing her personal holdings by 31.28%. The sale could weigh modestly on sentiment, though one insider transaction does not establish a change in Lam Research’s fundamentals. SEC insider transaction filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LRCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on Lam Research and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $500.00 target price on shares of Lam Research and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.81.

Lam Research Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $376.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.85. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $314.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.79.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.13. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total value of $3,007,970.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This represents a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,839 shares of company stock valued at $10,644,740 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at $10,035,000. Rokos Capital Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 259,921 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,532,000 after purchasing an additional 76,840 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the first quarter worth $59,973,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the first quarter worth $26,489,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 19.5% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 28,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Company Profile

Lam Research Corporation is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Its equipment supports key wafer-processing steps, including deposition, etch, wafer cleaning, and related processes used to create and connect the microscopic features found on semiconductor devices.

The company serves semiconductor manufacturers producing a range of products, including memory, logic, and specialty chips. In addition to manufacturing equipment, Lam Research provides installation, maintenance, spare parts, upgrades, technical support, and other services intended to help customers operate and improve their fabrication facilities.

Founded in 1980, Lam Research is headquartered in Fremont, California, and serves customers through a global network of offices, engineering facilities, and support operations.