New York, January 12, 2026, 17:54 EST — After hours
Lam Research Corp (LRCX) shares climbed 0.9% to $220.40 in after-hours trading Monday, after fluctuating between $213.90 and $222.57 during the session. Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini raised his price target on the chip-equipment maker from $200 to $250, maintaining a Positive rating. He noted that wafer-fab equipment trends “remain strong.” (TipRanks)
The note matters because investors are weighing if the next wave of chip spending reflects genuine demand or merely a catch-up cycle. Lam has a front-row seat, right by the cash register, when customers ramp up new capacity.
That’s the current narrative for toolmakers: how robust factory budgets remain and for how long. Even a slight sign that orders are slowing can send these stocks tumbling quickly.
Bernstein bumped its price target on Lam from $175 to $225, keeping an Outperform rating intact. The firm pointed to upbeat 2025 guidance and suggested a NAND upgrade cycle—linked to flash memory in data storage—“may be starting.”
Lam’s jump coincided with solid gains in semiconductor equipment stocks during regular trading. KLA and Applied Materials each ended roughly 2% higher, while the S&P 500 nudged up 0.16%. (MarketWatch)
The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained roughly 0.5% during the session.
Lam announced on Jan. 7 that its December-quarter earnings call and webcast are set for Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. ET. (Lam Research Investor Relations)
Wafer-fab equipment, known as WFE, refers to the machines that manufacture chips. Investment usually spikes during major expansions in memory and logic production, then tapers off once inventories become excessive.
But those optimistic targets rely on customers continuing to write checks. Any slowdown in memory demand, postponed fab projects, or budget reallocations could quickly derail Lam’s forecasts.
In the upcoming session, traders will be eyeing any follow-up moves from analysts and clues from peers about spending discipline.
Lam’s next major event comes Jan. 28, when it reports earnings and shares its outlook for the WFE cycle through 2026.
