B. Riley Names Lam Research (LRCX) a Top Memory Recovery Play Due to Specialized Etch Leadership

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the best performing S&P 500 stocks in 2025. On December 18, B. Riley raised the firm’s price target on Lam Research to $195 from $180 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The firm identified Lam Research as a high-leverage play on the recovery of memory WFE. The firm argued that the company’s specialized etch leadership makes it the preferred provider for complex memory architectures, allowing the company to capture a disproportionate share of accelerating industry spend.

A day prior to this rating, Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh also raised the firm’s price target on Lam Research to $200 from $170 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Mizuho expressed optimism regarding 2026 WFE estimates and anticipated potential upside to current projections, and suggested that this WFE outlook serves as a positive catalyst for the company’s growth.

Earlier on December 16, Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya raised the firm’s price target on Lam Research to $195 from $165 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. BofA revised its price targets for the US semiconductor stocks and signaled that 2026 marks the halfway point of a decade-long transition toward upgrading traditional IT infrastructure for AI-driven workloads.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits in the US, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

While we acknowledge the potential of LRCX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.