Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Sells 4,983 Shares of Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,624 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,983 shares during the quarter. Lam Research comprises 1.6% of Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $6,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LRCX shares. New Street Research upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $330.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Lam Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $358.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 approximately $69,881,114. This trade represents a 21.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 7,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.60, for a total value of $2,371,226.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 58,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,102,312. The trade was a 11.58% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,441 shares of company stock valued at $27,614,296. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lam Research Trading Up 4.7%

LRCX opened at $326.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. Lam Research Corporation has a 1-year low of $94.11 and a 1-year high of $438.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $338.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.96.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.13. Lam Research had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 67.60%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Lam Research’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.000-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and raised forecasts: Lam Research recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 30% year over year. Erste Group Bank raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate to $9.27 from $8.05, broadly in line with the $9.32 consensus forecast. The company also issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $2.00–$2.30, reinforcing expectations for continued growth.
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand: Analysts continue to identify LRCX as a leading AI-related semiconductor equipment stock, citing strong results, growth prospects and potential upside as chipmakers increase capital spending to support AI infrastructure. Buy and Hold These 2 Top-Ranked AI-Led Semiconductor Equipment Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into panel-level packaging: Lam is entering panel-level packaging, an emerging market intended to support larger, more complex AI chips. The move could provide an additional growth avenue beyond its core wafer-fabrication equipment business. Lam Research Enters Panel-Level Packaging: Is This a Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: Workforce-development partnership: Lam and NY CREATES will use Lam’s Semiverse virtual-fabrication platform to help train approximately 3,500 university students in semiconductor process integration over five years. The initiative strengthens industry relationships and supports the labor pipeline, though its financial impact is likely long term. Lam Research and NY Creates Team Up to Enable Training of University Students for the Semiconductor Workforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated: Jim Cramer’s upcoming semiconductor-focused call may increase visibility for LRCX, but any impact depends on his comments and is primarily sentiment-driven. 5 Semiconductor Stocks Jim Cramer Could Be Talking About on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is unreliable: A report showing zero shares sold short and a zero-day short ratio appears to reflect faulty or incomplete data, so it offers little actionable information for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Potential long-term industry competition: SpaceX’s proposed Terrafab facility could challenge the current memory-chip supply structure. The threat is aimed mainly at Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung, but broader changes in semiconductor manufacturing could affect equipment demand and industry dynamics over time.

Lam Research 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.