We recently compiled a list of the 11 Oversold Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) stands against the other oversold blue chip stocks.
The uncertainty related to the tariff announcements continues to influence Wall Street. Reuters reported that the S&P 500 is down 4.3% since Trump took office on January 20, and tariffs are the main concern for investors as they believe that can adversely impact the economic growth and be inflationary. While Trump believes that tariffs can increase the country’s revenue, fuel broad-based growth, and can be used as a negotiating tool with other countries, the investors believe that trade policies can weaken consumer confidence and limit the capital spending from companies.
Long Term Outlook Remains Intact
As per Franklin Templeton, the US equities have managed to provide strong gains over the past few years, with the S&P 500 repeatedly touching record highs, thanks to the Magnificent Seven’s dominance in AI. Despite elevated valuations, the broader market outlook is positive. Innovation and investment continue at a pace, sales growth has been accelerating, and earnings are expected to see a double-digit rise this year. Also, the US economy has a more business-friendly administration. That being said, there are risks, mainly related to the US trade policy and the expected impact of tariffs on critical sectors, including technology.
Amidst such uncertainties, Franklin Templeton believes that investor confidence in the US equities is expected to remain strong. While the risks might be elevated, the new administration’s policy changes are expected to finally result in long-term positives for the broader US economy.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
Blue Chips to Provide Shelter
While the Mag 7 stocks are well-placed for the long-term growth, the market leadership is expected to broaden as and when acceleration in innovation occurs, says Franklin Templeton. The investment firm believes that active management is of utmost importance. The pivot from AI infrastructure to platforms remains well underway. Therefore, identifying the right companies at the right time—ones possessing the technology, strategy, and adaptability to maintain and sustain long-term growth—are expected to be critical to investment success.
The US equities, mainly large caps, have been performing strongly, courtesy of the innovation and investment. Notably, over the past 6 months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has seen an increase of over ~4.5%. Even though the Mag 7 stocks continue to support the market momentum, the investment firm sees growing opportunities beyond such market leaders. With the continuation of AI-driven cycle, the competitive landscape remains dynamic and has been creating new growth areas.
Our Methodology
To list the 11 Oversold Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds, we used a screener and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF to shortlist the companies that have declined over the past year. Next, we chose the stocks that are popular among hedge funds, as of Q4 2024. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiments.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A technician operating an automated semiconductor processing machine with laser accuracy.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)
% Decline Over Past 1 Year: ~15.1%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
Market Cap as on March 7: $101.4 billion
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment utilized in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Needham analyst Charles Shi has maintained the bullish stance on the company’s stock, giving a “Buy” rating. The rating is backed by the company’s recent strategic plans. It has recently unveiled its 2028 and 2030 target models. Amidst the potential risks, the analyst remains optimistic about these targets, and believes in its capability. With respect to CY 2028 financial model, Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) expects revenue in the range of $25 billion – $27 billion.
A critical highlight of the target models is the strong gross margin target of ~50%, which the analyst views positively. Additionally, there is confidence in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s operational expenditure planning and conservative share buyback strategies, which can aid strong growth in EPS. The company’s strong position in the NAND market offers a significant growth opportunity. With the demand for high-capacity storage solutions rising, thanks to the data-intensive applications and cloud computing, Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s expertise in NAND technologies can result in significant revenue growth.
Vltava Fund, an investment management company, recently released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“In the quarter just ended, we added to the portfolio two new companies from the technology sector: Applied Materials and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX). Both are in the same industry as is another of our investments that we have held for some time, KLA Corporation. This industry is termed semiconductor devices and materials. One chapter in Hidden Investment Treasures is devoted to investing in technology companies and, among other things, the controversy over what really constitutes a technology company. As investors, we try to view technology companies not according to the industry into which they are formally classified but by whether the technologies and technological processes used in the production of their products and services are an essential element in value creation or if they are a source of long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. Among the companies that are formally categorized as technology-based and fall into either the Information Technology or the Communications Services sector, we find some that can be said to be just that but also others for which this classification is at least debatable. Similarly, among companies that do not formally belong to these two sectors, we find many that clearly are built to a large extent on technology and base their market positions and competitiveness on it. In the cases of Applied Materials and Lam Research, there can be no doubt that these are technology companies not only as a formality but also in fact.
Dozens of companies are directly or indirectly involved in the production of semiconductors. Within this broad group of companies, there are several without which it would not be possible to produce advanced types of semiconductors in the world today. These include a group of five very well-known companies, each of which has a dominant global position in its particular field, and which together operate more or less as oligopolies. These are Lam Research, Applied Materials, KLA Corporation, ASML, and Tokyo Electron. At the end of the year, we benefited from a significant correction in the share prices of Applied Materials and Lam Research, and, together with KLA Corporation, we now own three of them. We view these as one collective investment into a critical point within a very important segment of the global economy that is growing and will continue to grow over the long term.
Lam Research manufactures wafer fabrication equipment for the semiconductor industry and also provides related services. The company is a market leader in plasma etching, thin film deposition platforms, photoresist systems, as well as wet and plasma-based cleaning products for individual wafers. Its main customers are the four major semiconductor manufacturers Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductors. Lam Research is a business with net margins of around 27% and ROCE of about 30%. Capital outlays are relatively small. The company has good capital allocation with a preponderance of share buybacks…” (Click here to read the full text)
Overall LRCX ranks 3rd on our list of the oversold blue chip stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of LRCX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than LRCX but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.