Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lam Research to “buy” from “hold,” adding to broadly positive analyst sentiment. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $354.55.
• Lam Research exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.20 in EPS and $8.22 billion in revenue, up 54.4% year over year. Strong systems sales, memory demand and foundry revenue supported record profitability.
• Long-term demand tied to AI infrastructure and memory upgrades remains favorable, but supply bottlenecks, cleanroom constraints and declining China revenue could limit shipments and weigh on near-term performance.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LRCX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lam Research from $325.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lam Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Lam Research from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $333.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $354.55.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of LRCX opened at $230.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $301.90 and a 200-day moving average of $309.32. Lam Research has a 1 year low of $135.50 and a 1 year high of $438.50.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 32.34% and a return on equity of 72.15%. The business's revenue was up 54.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lam Research news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of Lam Research 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,607,966.30. The trade was a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. This trade represents a 10.53% 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 own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in Lam Research by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 5,576 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC increased its stake in Lam Research by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC now owns 2,873 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 3.5% during the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 1.0% in the second quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lam Research by 1.3% during the second quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record results and strong profitability: Fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 54.4% year over year to $8.22 billion, exceeding estimates, while adjusted EPS of $2.20 also beat forecasts. Operating margin topped 40% for the first time, supported by strong systems sales, memory demand and record foundry revenue. Lam Research Q1 Earnings Beat on Systems Sales and Margin Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI and memory demand remains supportive: Lam expects wafer-fabrication-equipment spending to exceed $200 billion in 2027, driven by AI infrastructure, memory upgrades and advanced manufacturing. Customer Support revenue is expected to grow more than 30%, while Aether dry-resist revenue is projected to reach $2.5 billion cumulatively. LRCX Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish: Mizuho reiterated an Outperform rating and recommended buying the pullback, while Bank of America maintained a Buy rating. Erste Group also modestly increased its FY2027 and FY2028 EPS estimates. Mizuho recommends buying the pullback
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance was broadly in line but leaves limited room for disappointment: Fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance of $8.2 billion-$9.0 billion and EPS guidance of $2.18-$2.48 bracket consensus estimates of $8.5 billion and $2.30, respectively. Mizuho trimmed its price target to $360 from $365, signaling continued upside but greater near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply bottlenecks are limiting shipments: Component shortages and cleanroom capacity constraints could restrict equipment deliveries through 2027, preventing Lam from fully converting strong demand into revenue. Lam Research says supply bottlenecks are holding back revenue
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and sector pressure are weighing on sentiment: China’s revenue contribution is expected to decline substantially from 35% in the September quarter. Citi warned of additional downside for Lam and peers, while a broad AI-chip sell-off amplified concerns about valuations and spending.

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.

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