New York, Feb 25, 2026, 15:02 EST — Regular session.
- Lam Research shares tacked on roughly 2% during the afternoon session, holding close to their latest peak levels.
- Morgan Stanley bumped up its price target, pointing to a more upbeat outlook for DRAM-driven spending.
- Fresh signals around wafer-fab equipment demand are in focus for traders, with upcoming investor events also on their radar.
Shares of Lam Research (LRCX.O) picked up roughly 2% on Wednesday, hovering near $249 and testing the top of their latest range.
This has become a key point for chipmaking-tool shares, which lately seem to live or die on 2026 factory spending forecasts—memory in particular. Even a slight adjustment in those projections can send the group moving. Fresh analyst notes have only reinforced that trend.
Investors are parsing fresh signals from Europe’s top chip equipment maker. In its annual report, ASML called the AI surge a sustained growth engine—marking a notable shift from its previously cautious view on the cycle.
Morgan Stanley’s Shane Brett bumped up the price target on Lam to $254, up from $244, while maintaining an Equal Weight rating, TipRanks said. The analyst’s latest note takes a more bullish stance on wafer fab equipment growth in 2026 and 2027, raising forecasts to 23% and 27%—previously 13% and 19%—citing increased DRAM memory spending as the reason.
Wafer fab equipment—WFE for short—covers everything from deposition and etch gear to inspection tools used in chip production. Lam stands out among suppliers here, especially with its significant footprint in memory and advanced manufacturing.
Investing.com reported the stock ticked above $251 for a short spell earlier in the session.
Shares of Lam ended Tuesday at $244.25, according to the company’s investor relations site.
Back in late January, Lam called for March-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion, give or take $300 million, with adjusted earnings expected to land at $1.35 a share, plus or minus 10 cents. The company had signaled a firmer setup for the period.
The setup, though, isn’t one-sided. Memory spending stalls or delayed tool shipments can quickly unravel those “beat-and-raise” hopes the sector’s riding on. Stocks sitting near their peaks usually take the first hit.
Competition is fierce right now. Applied Materials, KLA, and ASML are all scrambling for market share as client budgets shuffle back and forth between logic and memory, with focus shifting between process steps based on what’s moving.
Investors now eye Lam’s appearances at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference on March 3 and the Cantor Global Technology & Industrial Growth Conference on March 11, according to its investor calendar. They’ll be watching for any fresh demand signals.
