Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price Up 7.9% – Should You Buy?

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) traded up 7.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $320.25 and last traded at $317.74. 15,670,615 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 11,463,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.61.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research’s latest results showed record performance, with quarterly revenue of $6.72 billion, up 30% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share of $1.82, exceeding consensus expectations of $1.69. Management’s outlook for the September quarter—approximately $8.10 billion in revenue, 52% gross margin and 39.5% operating margin—suggests that momentum is accelerating. Lam Research Climbs as Strong Earnings and AI-Driven Chip Spending Optimism Support Shares
• Positive Sentiment: A Bank of America forecast calling for $1.18 trillion in cloud spending highlights a potential long-term catalyst for LRCX. Expanding AI data centers require more processors and memory, potentially driving additional semiconductor-fabrication equipment purchases from Lam Research and its peers. BofA’s $1.18T cloud forecast puts 3 chip stocks in focus
• Positive Sentiment: The broader semiconductor sector staged a sharp rebound as the AI investment trade regained momentum, providing favorable market-wide support for chip-equipment stocks.
• Positive Sentiment: Despite a recent monthly decline, analysts and stock-screening services continue to point to record revenue, strong AI-related demand, rising earnings and improving growth prospects. LRCX was also added to Zacks’ top-ranked Strong Buy and momentum lists. Lam Research Plunges 16% in a Month: Should You Still Buy the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain well above recent trading levels, with a reported six-month median target of $375, although the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to changes in AI spending expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have reportedly made numerous open-market sales without purchases during the past six months. This may temper enthusiasm, though insider transactions do not necessarily reflect the company’s operating outlook.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LRCX. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Lam Research and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lam Research from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lam Research currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $358.47.

Lam Research Stock Performance

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.84.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.13. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lam Research Corporation will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eric Brandt sold 54,500 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 199,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,881,114. The trade was a 21.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 18,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 87,142 shares in the company, valued at $29,192,570. This represents a 17.34% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 80,441 shares of company stock worth $27,614,296 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Lam Research by 1,032.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 1st quarter worth $239,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth about $253,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 100,528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,785,000 after buying an additional 2,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 5,206.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 796 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 781 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.