Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Lam Research has an average analyst recommendation of “Moderate Buy”, with 27 buy ratings and 7 hold ratings from 34 brokerages. The average 1-year price target is about $295.07.
• The stock has been performing strongly, recently hitting a new 12-month high and trading near $318.18. The shares also got support from Mizuho’s reiterated Buy rating and bullish commentary tied to AI-driven semiconductor demand.
• Lam Research’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $1.47 EPS versus the expected $1.36 on revenue of $5.84 billion, up 23.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $295.0710.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Lam Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Evercore boosted their price target on Lam Research from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lam Research from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Lam Research from $350.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lam Research from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th.

Trending Headlines about Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research hit a new 12-month high, reinforcing strong momentum in the shares and signaling continued investor demand for semiconductor equipment stocks.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho Securities reiterated its Buy rating on Lam Research, which supports the stock’s bullish trading tone.
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity showed unusually heavy interest in Lam Research, with investors reportedly favoring short put positions, a sign some traders expect the stock to hold up or rise further.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader semiconductor commentary remained constructive, as Applied Materials’ CEO said AI-driven demand is creating the strongest period ever for the chip equipment industry, a favorable backdrop for Lam Research.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles noted Lam Research’s strong technical run and high valuation, suggesting momentum is powerful but the stock may be vulnerable to volatility if expectations cool.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary questioned whether the semiconductor rally is getting ahead of fundamentals, warning that chip stocks could face a pullback if the current “supercycle” narrative weakens.

Lam Research Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $318.18 on Friday. Lam Research has a 1 year low of $79.49 and a 1 year high of $333.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $397.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.80.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lam Research will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. Lam Research's payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,129 shares in the company, valued at $16,872,153.06. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,081,705 shares in the company, valued at $242,334,371.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 120,066 shares of company stock worth $27,953,242 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Lam Research in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,035,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 36,274 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,209,000 after buying an additional 13,878 shares during the last quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 590.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,555 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,974,000 after buying an additional 50,933 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 262,544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,417,000 after buying an additional 89,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 115.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 22,198 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,972,000 after buying an additional 11,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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