Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) traded down 4.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $315.16 and last traded at $320.96. Approximately 10,304,937 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 11,355,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.43.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms remain constructive on Lam Research, including TD Cowen and Mizuho, with Mizuho recently lifting its price target to $400 and saying AI demand should support durable wafer-fab equipment spending for years. Mizuho Raises its Price Target on Lam Research Corporation (LRCX)
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to point to strong AI-related semiconductor equipment demand, with Lam seen as a beneficiary of spending on advanced memory, logic, and wafer fabrication tools. Lam Research (LRCX) Stock Looks About Right Following Fresh AI Demand News
• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research was also highlighted as a potential outperformer by Morgan Stanley ahead of earnings, which may be encouraging investors to position for another strong report. Buy GE Vernova, Lam Research, United Airlines stocks: Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Lam Research is seeing extra attention from investors and media, including fund positioning changes and articles about the stock’s long-term rally, but these items mostly reinforce the existing bullish AI narrative rather than adding fresh catalyst news. Ithaka Group adds TSM, LRCX; exits NFLX, INTU among Q2 moves
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold 18,282 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction, which can still weigh on sentiment even if it was planned in advance. Insider Selling: Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Director Sells 18,282 Shares of Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent analysis suggests the stock may already reflect a lot of optimism after a huge multi-year rally, leaving less room for upside if AI spending cools or growth expectations become harder to beat. Lam Research (LRCX) Stock Looks About Right Following Fresh AI Demand News

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LRCX. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $500.00 price objective on Lam Research and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lam Research from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Lam Research from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $358.67.

Lam Research Price 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 has a market capitalization of $401.38 billion, a PE ratio of 60.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $338.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.63.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 66.21% and a net margin of 30.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued 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 payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lam Research news, insider Ava Harter sold 6,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.66, for a total value of $1,554,546.60. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 owned 66,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,872,153.06. The trade was a 21.55% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,621 shares of company stock worth $33,804,737. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Lam Research by 1,032.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 100,528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,785,000 after buying an additional 2,661 shares during the period. 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 worth $77,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

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.