Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Down 1.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 31st, 2026

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $404.00 to $367.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lam Research traded as low as $292.93 and last traded at $293.02. Approximately 12,525,630 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 11,423,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $297.72.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LRCX. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $265.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $425.00 price target on Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Lam Research from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lam Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.47.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on LRCX

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eric Brandt sold 54,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 199,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,881,114. This represents a 21.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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 sale, the director owned 87,142 shares in the company, valued at $29,192,570. This represents a 17.34% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,441 shares of company stock worth $27,614,296. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

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

Positive Sentiment: Lam Research reported record quarterly revenue of $6.72 billion, up 30% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.82, exceeding consensus estimates of $6.66 billion and $1.69, respectively. NAND revenue more than doubled sequentially, while customer-support revenue reached a third consecutive record. LRCX Q4 Earnings Beat on NAND and Customer Support Strength
Positive Sentiment: The company’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 guidance significantly exceeded expectations: revenue of approximately $7.7 billion to $8.5 billion versus a $7.0 billion consensus forecast, and EPS of $2.00 to $2.30 versus $1.81 expected. Management cited accelerating AI infrastructure investment and stronger demand across memory, advanced packaging and wafer fabrication. Chip equipment maker Lam Research forecasts strong revenue on AI boom
Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive following the results. Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and $390 target, raised EPS estimates, and described Lam as having an “extraordinary runway” into 2027. Needham Raises Lam Research EPS Estimates
Positive Sentiment: Mizuho pushed back on fears that Chinese memory maker CXMT will overwhelm the DRAM market and damage pricing. Reduced concern about a potential memory glut supports demand expectations for Lam’s memory-manufacturing equipment. Tech specialist explains why China memory fears are overblown

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at $10,035,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 36,274 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,209,000 after purchasing an additional 13,878 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 259,921 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $55,532,000 after purchasing an additional 76,840 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,973,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 28,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,584 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lam Research Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $341.06 and a 200 day moving average of $276.36. The firm has a market cap of $366.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.87, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 71.15% and a net margin of 31.27%.The company’s revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Lam Research Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.