Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LRCX. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $435.00 price target (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lam Research from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Fundamental Research set a $390.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.55.

Lam Research Stock Down 0.0%

Lam Research stock opened at $230.10 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $301.90 and its 200-day moving average is $309.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.14 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 32.34% and a return on equity of 72.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 54.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This trade represents a 31.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

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

Lam Research News Summary

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.