Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) shares traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $305.36 and last traded at $307.42. 8,647,023 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 11,425,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $317.74.

Lam Research News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected outlook supports the AI-chip cycle. Lam reported quarterly earnings of $1.82 per share on $6.72 billion in revenue, exceeding expectations, while guiding to approximately $2.15 in earnings per share and $8.1 billion in revenue for the next quarter. Management said AI-driven demand, memory investment and advanced manufacturing should support another year of outperformance. Lam Research’s Latest Earnings Report Says the AI Chip Supercycle Isn’t Over. Here’s Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Industry spending trends remain favorable. Optimism around higher cloud infrastructure spending, increased Taiwan Semiconductor and Intel capital-expenditure plans, and strong memory demand is lifting expectations for wafer-fabrication equipment. Advanced packaging and testing are viewed as particularly attractive growth areas. BofA’s $1.18T cloud forecast puts 3 chip stocks in focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and quantitative screens remain constructive. Recent analyst targets have generally ranged from $400 to $500, above the current trading level, while Zacks included LRCX among its growth, efficiency and GARP stock selections. However, these are opinion-based signals rather than new company developments. 4 GARP Stocks That Investors Can Scoop Up for Maximum Returns
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is limiting enthusiasm. Commentary characterized the earnings report as solid but not spectacular and noted that Lam trades at the high end of its historical forward-earnings range. After a sharp rebound from July’s selloff, some investors may be taking profits rather than adding to positions. Lam Research Soars After Earnings. Are they the Top Semiconductor Equipment Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a cautionary signal. Reported insider transactions over the past six months showed sales without purchases, including transactions by senior executives. This does not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, but it may weigh on sentiment alongside elevated valuation. Lam Research Climbs as Strong Earnings and AI-Driven Chip Spending Optimism Support Shares

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LRCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Lam Research from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $355.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.47.

Lam Research Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $340.50 and a 200-day moving average of $278.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.84.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%.Lam Research’s revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.13 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is 18.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 18,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $6,124,470.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 87,142 shares in the company, valued at $29,192,570. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 54,500 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.80, for a total value of $19,118,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 199,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,881,114. The trade was a 21.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,441 shares of company stock valued at $27,614,296. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lam Research by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,747,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,764,117,000 after buying an additional 126,613 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lam Research by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,821,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,906,559,000 after buying an additional 1,638,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,645,427,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lam Research by 352.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,695,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,344,347,000 after buying an additional 10,666,540 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.