Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading 3.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares were up 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $345.12 and last traded at $337.01. 8,866,756 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 11,301,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.11.

Key Headlines Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: SanDisk’s bullish long-term targets boosted memory-equipment stocks. SanDisk’s multi-year financial model signaled sustained memory capital spending through 2030, strengthening expectations for orders of wafer-fabrication equipment from suppliers such as Lam Research. Lam Research, Applied Materials, and Camtek Rise After SanDisk Issues Bullish Financial Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and earnings expectations remain favorable. Analysts continue to maintain Buy ratings, while Erste Group Bank expects increased earnings for Lam Research. The company’s most recent quarterly results also exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, providing support for the bullish outlook. What’s Going On With Lam Research Stock Thursday? Erste Group Bank Expects Increased Earnings for Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: Lam is expanding its semiconductor workforce pipeline. A collaboration with NY Creates will use Lam’s Semiverse Solutions platform to train approximately 3,500 university students in semiconductor process integration over five years. The initiative is strategically positive for industry capacity and Lam’s long-term customer relationships, although it is not an immediate revenue driver. Lam Research and NY Creates Team Up to Enable Training of University Students for the Semiconductor Workforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong inflows into semiconductor ETFs are supporting sector momentum, but the enthusiasm is partly offset by warnings that the semiconductor cycle may be nearing a peak. Semiconductor Flows Stay Sticky in Leveraged Chip ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: LRCX remains exposed to semiconductor-cycle and valuation risks after a substantial advance, making the stock vulnerable if memory or AI-related capital spending forecasts weaken.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LRCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Lam Research in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Lam Research from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.47.

Lam Research Stock Up 3.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $338.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $421.71 billion, a PE ratio of 58.51, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.13. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%.The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Lam Research’s revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.06%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 7,659 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.60, for a total value of $2,371,226.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 58,470 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,312. The trade was a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 18,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $6,124,470.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 87,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,192,570. The trade was a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 80,441 shares of company stock worth $27,614,296 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Lam Research by 1,032.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 100,528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,661 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 5,206.7% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 796 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.