Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s stock price rose 6.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $293.63 and last traded at $292.09. Approximately 8,530,711 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 10,951,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.38.

Lam Research News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to sound optimistic, with Sanford C. Bernstein raising its price target on Lam Research to $340 from $325 and reiterating an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is benefiting from strong AI-related chip demand, which is driving customers to buy more wafer fabrication equipment and supporting the stock’s strong year-to-date run.
• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research said it is adding AI and sensing capabilities to its chipmaking tools and expanding U.S. operations in Arizona and California, a sign it is positioning itself for longer-term growth in advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Article: Lam Research focused on adding AI to chipmaking tools as it eyes US expansion, CEO says
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a new research lab in Salzburg focused on panel-level chip packaging, aiming to improve chip density and reduce packaging costs as AI demand rises.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lam Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $221.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.46.

Lam Research Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.71. The company has a market cap of $381.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.81.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.11. Lam Research had a return on equity of 66.21% and a net margin of 30.94%.The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research’s quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In other news, insider Ava Harter sold 6,010 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.66, for a total transaction of $1,554,546.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 53,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,762,005.30. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of Lam Research 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,872,153.06. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 120,066 shares of company stock valued at $27,953,242. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Lam Research by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

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.