Lam Research (LRCX) Is Up 19.1% After Fresh Analyst Support for Its AI Chip Tools

In recent days, Lam Research has attracted renewed attention after multiple research firms, including Citi and Aletheia Capital, issued positive coverage highlighting its position in semiconductor manufacturing equipment for AI and high‑performance computing applications. This wave of analyst support underscores how Lam’s tools sit at the center of the ongoing build‑out of advanced chip capacity across logic and memory. With analyst enthusiasm around Lam’s AI-focused wafer fabrication equipment building, we’ll explore how this backdrop reshapes the company’s existing investment narrative. Outshine the giants: these 25 early-stage AI stocks could fund your retirement.Lam Research Investment Narrative RecapTo own Lam Research, you need to believe that AI and high performance computing will keep pulling more capital into advanced chip manufacturing, sustaining healthy demand for its etch and deposition tools. The current burst of bullish analyst coverage has lifted sentiment but does not materially change the key near term swing factor: how wafer fab equipment budgets evolve at Lam’s largest memory and foundry customers, which also remains the company’s biggest risk if spending slows or shifts to competitors. Among recent announcements, Citi adding Lam to its Large Cap Recommended list for 2026 stands out because it directly ties analyst optimism to AI linked wafer fab equipment spending. That endorsement, along with target hikes from other firms, has pushed the shares to new highs and sharpened the tension between strong AI driven order momentum and concerns that overall WFE spending could flatten, making Lam more exposed if customer capex or regional demand normalizes. Yet behind the AI excitement, investors should be aware that concentration in a handful of big chipmakers could... Read the full narrative on Lam Research (it's free!)Lam Research's narrative projects $23.6 billion revenue and $6.7 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 8.5% yearly revenue growth and about a $1.3 billion earnings increase from $5.4 billion today.Uncover how Lam Research's forecasts yield a $160.30 fair value, a 23% downside to its current price.Exploring Other PerspectivesLRCX 1-Year Stock Price Chart Fourteen members of the Simply Wall St Community currently see Lam’s fair value between US$66 and US$160, reflecting a wide spread of individual assumptions about its prospects. Against that backdrop, the recent surge in AI focused wafer fab spending and analyst enthusiasm puts even more weight on how stable those large customer capex plans really are over time, so it is worth comparing several different viewpoints before forming your own.Explore 14 other fair value estimates on Lam Research - why the stock might be worth as much as $160.30!Build Your Own Lam Research NarrativeDisagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.A great starting point for your Lam Research research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.Our free Lam Research research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Lam Research's overall financial health at a glance.Contemplating Other Strategies?Our daily scans reveal stocks with breakout potential. Don't miss this chance:Explore 29 top quantum computing companies leading the revolution in next-gen technology and shaping the future with breakthroughs in quantum algorithms, superconducting qubits, and cutting-edge research.Trump's oil boom is here - pipelines are primed to profit. Discover the 22 US stocks riding the wave.The end of cancer? These 29 emerging AI stocks are developing tech that will allow early identification of life changing diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.