Lam Research Corporation $LRCX Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake by 65.4%, acquiring 26,262 shares to hold 66,421 shares of Lam Research worth about $11.37 million at the end of the quarter.
• Wall Street remains largely positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (27 Buys, 8 Holds) and a consensus price target of $247.26, while several firms have raised targets into the $290–$300 range.
• Lam reported a strong quarter—EPS of $1.27 beat the $1.17 estimate and revenue was $5.34 billion (up 22.1% YoY)—and set Q3 2026 guidance of 1.250–1.450 EPS, while also paying a $0.26 quarterly dividend.

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,421 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,262 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Lam Research were worth $11,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lam Research by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,974,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $17,537,447,000 after purchasing an additional 364,949 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Lam Research by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,817,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,024,684,000 after purchasing an additional 265,805 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Lam Research by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,182,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,836,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,658 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Lam Research by 781.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,340,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,518,542,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Lam Research by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,312,752 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,512,854,000 after purchasing an additional 718,178 shares in the last quarter. 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: Analyst write-ups and feature coverage highlight record semiconductor manufacturing demand and an upcoming "massive investor update" that could reinforce bullish guidance; the story frames Lam as a primary beneficiary of industry capacity expansion. Lam Research Stock Analysis: Buy or Sell Before the Massive Investor Update?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Lam is likely to beat Q3 estimates as strong AI-chip demand and rising DRAM capex lift equipment spending — expectations for an earnings beat are directly supportive of the share rally. LRCX Likely to Beat Q3 Earnings Estimates: How to Play the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Zacks preview urges investors to look beyond headline EPS/revenue — highlighting margin drivers and backlog indicators that could validate stronger-than-expected results and lift sentiment if reported. Lam Research (LRCX) Q3 Earnings Preview: What You Should Know Beyond the Headline Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Elon Musk’s Terafab project is contacting semiconductor equipment suppliers raise the theoretical prospect of new, large-scale customers for makers of chip fabrication tools — a longer‑term demand driver for suppliers like Lam. Tesla, SpaceX Search For Suppliers For Elon Musk's Terafab Project: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Barron’s research/ratings page is updated — useful for tracking analyst coverage but it presents no single new catalyst; check for any rating or target changes that could move the stock. Lam Research Corp.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry tracker: TSMC beat and raised its outlook, signaling broad AI-driven capacity growth that supports Lam’s end market — but the note also flags geopolitical and macro uncertainties that could affect timing or spending. Stocks to Watch: TSMC, Abbott Laboratories, Nvidia, Netflix

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group set a $300.00 price target on Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price target on Lam Research and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Lam Research from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lam Research has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.26.

Lam Research Trading Up 2.5%

LRCX opened at $267.60 on Friday. Lam Research Corporation has a one year low of $61.14 and a one year high of $273.50. The company has a market cap of $334.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.84, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $231.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.71.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. Lam Research had a return on equity of 62.81% and a net margin of 30.22%.The business had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total value of $11,214,269.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,334,371.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total value of $7,896,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 253,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,235,848. The trade was a 12.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lam Research 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.