Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LRCX. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.55.

Lam Research Trading Down 0.0%

LRCX stock opened at $230.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $287.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $301.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.48. Lam Research has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $438.50.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.14 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 32.34% and a return on equity of 72.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lam Research news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at $12,843,056.52. This represents a 10.53% 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. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,704,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,320,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545,830 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Lam Research by 5.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,244,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,872,426,000 after purchasing an additional 584,489 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 411.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,089,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,805,368,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922,854 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the second quarter worth $3,777,585,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Lam Research by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,147,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,168,107,000 after buying an additional 1,942,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Lam Research News

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.