Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Price

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $390.00 to $290.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.19% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Lam Research from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lam Research from $325.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.85.

Lam Research Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $260.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.80. The stock has a market cap of $326.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.85. Lam Research has a twelve month low of $135.50 and a twelve month high of $438.50.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. The business had revenue of $8.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lam Research will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total transaction of $3,007,970.18. Following the sale, the director owned 20,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,607,966.30. The trade was a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,512,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. This trade represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Lam Research by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 100.0% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new stake in Lam Research in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter worth $35,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lam Research News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $8.22 billion, up 54.4% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share. Both figures narrowly exceeded Wall Street expectations of $8.14 billion and $2.18 per share. Lam Research financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Management guided for approximately $8.6 billion in next-quarter revenue, broadly in line with analyst forecasts, while continuing to see strong demand from AI infrastructure and memory-chip customers. Lam Research results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth opportunities include expected cumulative Aether dry-resist revenue of $2.5 billion and more than 30% annual growth in the Customer Support Business Group. Lam Research long-term investor takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat was relatively small, and the next-quarter outlook largely matched expectations rather than raising forecasts. That limited the potential for a positive surprise after the stock’s substantial prior rally. Lam Research outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints are preventing Lam from fully converting demand into sales, while management expects China’s revenue contribution to fall substantially from 35% in September. These issues raise concerns about near-term growth and regional exposure. Lam Research supply and China update
• Negative Sentiment: The results reignited fears that AI infrastructure spending and semiconductor capital expenditures may not justify elevated expectations. The weakness has spread across chip stocks, making LRCX’s decline partly sector-driven. Chip stock rebound and AI spending fears

About Lam Research

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.