Applied Materials Issues Weak Outlook, Joins Globant, Sandisk And Other Big Stocks Moving Lower In Friday's Pre-Market Session
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Aug 15 2025
0mins
Source: Benzinga
Market Overview: U.S. stock futures showed mixed results, with Dow futures up by 300 points, while Applied Materials, Inc. shares fell 14.7% in pre-market trading after issuing weak fourth-quarter guidance despite beating third-quarter revenue and earnings estimates.
Other Stocks Performance: Several other stocks, including Gambling.com Group Limited and Globant S.A., also experienced significant declines in pre-market trading following disappointing earnings reports or guidance.
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Analyst Views on LRCX
Wall Street analysts forecast LRCX stock price to fall
22 Analyst Rating
18 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 322.680
Low
142.00
Averages
192.50
High
265.00
Current: 322.680
Low
142.00
Averages
192.50
High
265.00
About LRCX
Lam Research Corporation is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. The Company designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Its products and services are designed to help its customers build devices that are used in a variety of electronic products, including mobile phones, personal computers, cloud and enterprise servers, wearables, automotive vehicles and data storage devices. Its product families include ALTUS, SABRE, SPEED, Striker, VECTOR, Flex, Vantex, Kiyo, Versys Metal, Syndion, Coronus, and DV-Prime, Da Vinci, EOS, and SP Series. Its customer base includes semiconductor memory, foundries, and integrated device manufacturers that make products such as non-volatile memory, dynamic random-access memory, and logic devices. It offers services in areas like nanoscale manufacturing enablement, chemistry, plasma and fluidics, and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Goldman Sachs' Hedge Fund VIP List Includes Micron Technology
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- Outstanding Market Performance: The VIP basket has risen 10% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500's 9% gain, suggesting that hedge fund investment strategies are excelling in the current market environment, thereby boosting investor confidence in Micron.
- Stock Surge: Micron's shares soared 19% on Tuesday alone, pushing its market value past $1 trillion for the first time, primarily driven by insatiable AI demand for its memory chips, showcasing the company's competitiveness in emerging technologies.
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- Tech Stock Performance: Dell Technologies has experienced a series of bullish flag breakouts in recent trading, indicating strong performance among tech stocks, allowing investors to optimize their trading strategies during these consolidation phases.
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See More
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- Popular Stock Additions: Hedge funds have increased their positions in semiconductor stocks such as Lam Research Corp, Applied Materials Inc, and ASML Holding, while mutual funds have added Intel Corp and SiTime Corp, reflecting a shift in capital towards technology hardware.
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See More
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- Rising Capital Expenditures: Microsoft anticipates its capital expenditures will reach $190 billion in 2023, with other hyperscalers also increasing budgets, creating significant market opportunities for TSMC and Lam Research, which can further enhance their pricing power.
- Profitability Expansion: TSMC and Lam Research are experiencing substantial revenue growth and margin expansion, alongside robust free cash flow, indicating strong financial performance amid soaring demand for AI chips.
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See More
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- Rising Capital Expenditures: Microsoft expects its capital expenditures to reach $190 billion in 2023, with other hyperscalers also increasing budgets, creating substantial opportunities for manufacturing companies like TSMC and Lam Research, driving revenue and margin growth.
- Market Performance Discrepancy: Despite Lam Research's stock rising nearly 60% this year, its P/E ratio has surged from 30 to 48, indicating that the market has already priced in strong future earnings, which may lead Laffont to take profits this quarter.
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See More
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- Hedge Fund Favoritism: Micron Technology has made it to Goldman Sachs' coveted Hedge Fund VIP list, indicating strong interest from professional traders in its data and storage chips, reflecting optimistic market expectations for future growth.
- Outstanding Market Performance: The VIP basket has risen 10% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500's 9% gain, suggesting that hedge fund investment strategies are excelling in the current market environment, thereby boosting investor confidence in Micron.
- Stock Surge: Micron's shares soared 19% on Tuesday alone, pushing its market value past $1 trillion for the first time, primarily driven by insatiable AI demand for its memory chips, showcasing the company's competitiveness in emerging technologies.
- Analyst Optimism: UBS has tripled its price target on Micron to $1,625, believing that the market will start to assign a more 'normal' multiple to the stock, indicating that it is likely to continue rising as structural changes driven by AI unfold.
See More
US Stocks Close Higher: S&P 500 Hits All-Time High
- Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose by 0.61% and the Nasdaq 100 increased by 1.76%, reaching all-time highs, indicating strong demand for tech stocks amid falling oil prices and progress in US-Iran peace talks.
- Oil Price Volatility: WTI crude oil prices fell to a 2.5-week low as US-Iran negotiations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz progressed, although military actions by US Central Command pressured market sentiment, leading to declines in energy stocks.
- Economic Data Impact: The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to a 13-month high of 0.14, surpassing expectations, while a slight decline in the consumer confidence index reflects the complexities of economic recovery, potentially influencing future market trends.
- Earnings Reports: As of Tuesday, 83% of the 475 S&P 500 companies reported earnings above expectations, with Q1 earnings projected to grow by 12% year-on-year, although excluding the tech sector, the increase is only 3%, highlighting disparities across industries.
See More
Analysis of Bullish Flag Patterns
- Bullish Flag Characteristics: Bullish flag patterns typically emerge after strong upward movements, as illustrated by Zcash's chart, indicating potential further gains in the short term, prompting investors to watch for breakout signals.
- Tech Stock Performance: Dell Technologies has experienced a series of bullish flag breakouts in recent trading, indicating strong performance among tech stocks, allowing investors to optimize their trading strategies during these consolidation phases.
- Semiconductor Sector Leadership: The recent bullish flag breakout by Arm Holdings achieved significant gains in just three days, highlighting the semiconductor sector's leadership in the current market environment, suggesting investors should monitor the sustainability of such patterns.
- Lam Research Developments: Lam Research emerged from a digestion phase late last week, and if this pattern is confirmed, it is expected to see a near-term advance similar to the 23% gain from April 29 to May 6, further solidifying its market position.
See More
Hedge Funds Shift Focus to Semiconductor Stocks
- Investment Trend Shift: According to Goldman Sachs, the weight of semiconductor stocks in hedge fund long portfolios has reached an all-time high, while the weight of software stocks has dropped to its lowest since 2019, indicating strong market confidence in the semiconductor sector.
- Popular Stock Additions: Hedge funds have increased their positions in semiconductor stocks such as Lam Research Corp, Applied Materials Inc, and ASML Holding, while mutual funds have added Intel Corp and SiTime Corp, reflecting a shift in capital towards technology hardware.
- Strong Shared Holdings Performance: Goldman noted that stocks like Boeing Co., Mastercard Inc., Marvell Technology Inc., and Visa Inc. have emerged as popular holdings in both hedge fund and mutual fund portfolios, outperforming the S&P 500 by 3 percentage points with a year-to-date return of 10%.
- Cash Allocation Adjustments: Despite mutual funds raising cash allocations amid rising geopolitical tensions from a record low of 1.1% at the start of 2026 to 1.4% at the beginning of April, cash balances as a share of assets remain extremely low relative to historical levels, reflecting market uncertainty.
See More
Laffont Invests in AI Infrastructure, Boosts TSMC and Lam Research
- Portfolio Shift: Laffont sold off eight of his top ten holdings last quarter, increasing positions in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) and Lam Research, indicating a strategic preference for upstream AI computing supply chain investments that are expected to drive revenue growth for these companies.
- Rising Capital Expenditures: Microsoft anticipates its capital expenditures will reach $190 billion in 2023, with other hyperscalers also increasing budgets, creating significant market opportunities for TSMC and Lam Research, which can further enhance their pricing power.
- Profitability Expansion: TSMC and Lam Research are experiencing substantial revenue growth and margin expansion, alongside robust free cash flow, indicating strong financial performance amid soaring demand for AI chips.
- Market Valuation Insights: While Lam Research's P/E ratio has surged from 30 to 48, reflecting high market expectations for its future performance, TSMC's P/E remains attractive at 25, highlighting its significance in Laffont's investment portfolio.
See More
Laffont Shifts Portfolio Focus to AI Supply Chain
- Portfolio Adjustment: Laffont significantly reshuffled his portfolio last quarter by selling eight of his top ten holdings, indicating a preference for upstream AI computing companies, particularly increasing stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor and Lam Research, reflecting confidence in future market demand.
- Rising Capital Expenditures: Microsoft expects its capital expenditures to reach $190 billion in 2023, with other hyperscalers also increasing budgets, creating substantial opportunities for manufacturing companies like TSMC and Lam Research, driving revenue and margin growth.
- Market Performance Discrepancy: Despite Lam Research's stock rising nearly 60% this year, its P/E ratio has surged from 30 to 48, indicating that the market has already priced in strong future earnings, which may lead Laffont to take profits this quarter.
- Attractiveness of TSMC: While TSMC's P/E has also increased, it remains at 25, lower than its peers, and combined with its strong medium-term outlook, makes it a key asset in Laffont's portfolio, warranting investor attention.
See More
