Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading Down 4.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Lam Research shares fell 4.8% on Friday, trading as low as $276.48 after closing at $299.15 the prior day. Trading volume was below average, with about 9.54 million shares changing hands.
• The company’s recent business news remains fundamentally strong, with reports of AI-driven demand, record quarterly revenue and EPS, and margin expansion. Management also reportedly raised expectations for wafer fabrication equipment spending and advanced packaging revenue.
• Wall Street remains bullish despite the stock pullback, with several analysts raising price targets and 26 analysts rating it a Buy versus 8 Holds. Lam Research also beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.47 EPS on $5.84 billion in revenue.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $276.48 and last traded at $284.72. Approximately 9,538,491 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 11,030,606 shares. The stock had previously closed at $299.15.

Trending Headlines about Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research is benefiting from AI-driven demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, with reports citing record quarterly revenue and EPS, along with expanding margins. Lam Research Rides AI Boom With Record Results And Margin Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Management reportedly lifted its outlook for wafer fabrication equipment spending and advanced packaging revenue, reinforcing expectations for continued growth tied to AI infrastructure. Why Lam Research (LRCX) Is Levered to AI-Driven Wafer Fab and Packaging Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple reports pointing to bullish analyst views and higher price targets after the company topped estimates and reached record stock levels. Lam Research (LRCX) Stock Surges Past $300 Milestone as Wall Street Boosts Price Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Lam Research’s long-term investment appeal and why investors favor the stock, which adds to the positive narrative but does not appear to introduce new catalysts. If You Invested $1000 in Lam Research a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference-participation news may keep Lam Research visible to investors, but it is not likely to move the stock on its own. Lam Research Corporation Announces Participation at Upcoming Conferences

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LRCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Lam Research from $265.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lam Research from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Lam Research from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Lam Research from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lam Research has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.75.

Lam Research Stock Performance

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 company's fifty day moving average is $245.00 and its 200 day moving average is $210.21. The company has a market cap of $356.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.81.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 30.94% and a return on equity of 66.21%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Lam Research'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 predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In other news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.14, for a total value of $4,635,893.80. Following the completion of 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 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, insider Ava Harter sold 6,010 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 53,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,762,005.30. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 120,066 shares of company stock worth $27,953,242. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,645,427,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 352.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,695,210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,344,347,000 after buying an additional 10,666,540 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 781.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,340,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,518,542,000 after buying an additional 10,053,978 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,110,560 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,730,724,000 after buying an additional 3,671,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 235.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,199,441 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $890,040,000 after buying an additional 3,649,553 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lam Research

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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