Lam Research, IBD Stock Of The Day, Hits All-Time High On 2026 Prospects
Dec 19, 2025 16:53:00 -0500 by PATRICK SEITZ
Lam Research (LRCX) is the IBD Stock Of The Day as the semiconductor equipment maker is called a “best-in-class franchise.” LRCX stock notched a record high on Friday.
Oppenheimer analyst Edward Yang on Friday reiterated his outperform, or buy, ratings on Lam Research and KLA (KLAC). He said the semiconductor capital equipment firms are heading into 2026 “on strong footing.”
From an investment perspective, Yang is focused on “best-in-class franchises/compounders” among semicap firms and cited Lam and KLA.
Both are “attractive AI portfolio diversifiers,” he said. They are benefiting from chipmakers needing the latest gear to make advanced products to support the artificial intelligence megatrend.
Yang has a price target of 200 on LRCX stock and 1,400 on KLA stock.
On the stock market today, LRCX stock jumped 4.6% to close at 172.27. In intraday trading, it hit an all-time high of 173.58.
With the move higher, Lam Research shares cleared a short consolidation pattern. Investors could plot buy points at either 167.15 or 169.69
The stock is getting a boost from a strong quarterly report from memory-chip maker Micron Technology (MU). That’s because Lam is exposed to the memory-chip market with its specialized production gear.
Meanwhile, KLA stock climbed 1.9% to 1,245.67 on Friday. It is nearing a proper buy point of 1,284.47 from a cup base, according to MarketSurge charts.
LRCX Stock Snags Price-Target Hikes
At least five Wall Street firms raised their price targets on Lam Research this week.
On Friday, Deutsche Bank analyst Melissa Weathers reiterated her buy rating on LRCX stock and raised her price target to 195 from 160. She also hiked her price targets on peers KLA and Applied Materials (AMAT).
“All told, we continue to view LRCX as our top large-cap semi-cap pick in 2026, as we view it as a ‘Goldilocks scenario’ benefitting from strong cyclical + secular + company-specific tailwinds at what we believe to be a still-reasonable valuation,” Weathers said in a client note.
On Thursday, B. Riley kept its buy rating on LRCX stock and increased its price target to 195 from 180. Lam’s “superior” memory exposure and etch leadership offer outsized leverage to accelerating memory wafer fab equipment spend, the firm said in a client note.
On Tuesday, Mizuho Securities maintained its outperform rating on Lam Research and upped its price target to 200 from 170.
In a report, Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh said strong demand and production constraints for high bandwidth memory (HBM) will drive chipmakers to purchase more gear. HBM devices are critical to scaling AI data centers.
LRCX stock is on the IBD Tech Leaders list.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
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