Lam Research Corp. surged 12.7% to lead a broad recovery in AI chip equipment stocks on Thursday, as a wave of analyst upgrades and improving wafer-fab spending forecasts pushed the SOXX semiconductor ETF to its sharpest single-session gain in recent weeks. The S&P 500 rose 1.75% to 7,394, the Nasdaq Composite added 2.54% to 25,810, and retail-driven enthusiasm surrounding the anticipated SpaceX initial public offering provided an additional lift to AI infrastructure names across the board.
Today's biggest movers
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $LRCX | $362.52 | +12.65% | +22.71% | +95.89% |
| $ARM | $342.23 | +11.32% | +54.71% | +198.29% |
| $AMAT | $552.64 | +11.19% | +26.58% | +105.54% |
| $ASML | $1,899.48 | +9.53% | +20.10% | +63.22% |
| $INTC | $116.96 | +9.27% | -2.77% | +197.00% |
| $ORCL | $184.10 | -8.53% | -2.98% | -5.93% |
| $NOW | $103.08 | -2.81% | +18.41% | -30.09% |
| $CRM | $166.45 | -2.62% | +0.37% | -34.37% |
| $MSFT | $390.34 | -1.77% | -3.67% | -17.47% |
| $BIDU | $116.11 | -1.17% | -22.85% | -22.75% |
Lam Research surges 12.7% as chip equipment spending forecasts signal multi-year AI upcycle
Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) topped the AI stock leaderboard Thursday with a 12.7% advance to $362.52, its largest single-session gain in recent months. The catalyst was a convergence of analyst target increases and growing conviction around multi-year wafer-fab equipment demand linked to AI data center construction. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse raised his price target to $425 from $320, citing accelerating AI and DRAM-related capital spending; UBS lifted its target to $375 from $310; and Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley maintained an Equal-Weight rating but raised his target to $335 from $275. With shares now up 95.9% year-to-date, Lam sits among the strongest performers in the chip supply chain. Barclays noted, however, that the current forward price-to-earnings multiple embeds optimistic long-term wafer-fab spending assumptions that could leave the stock exposed if capital spending stalls.
ARM soars 11.3% as AI CPU demand thesis attracts fresh analyst conviction
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) jumped 11.3% to $342.23, extending a year-to-date advance that now stands at 198%. Bank of America Securities maintained its Neutral rating Thursday but raised its price target to $335 from $245, reflecting an upward revision to long-term AI-driven CPU demand assumptions. Analyst consensus fair value for ARM has risen from $237 to $345 as firms price in the company's growing role in agentic AI processing and edge inference. For the current fiscal quarter, ARM has guided for revenue of $1.01 billion to $1.11 billion, with consensus EBITDA near $540 million and implied margins of approximately 43%. The one-month gain of 54.7% marks a decisive recovery from last week's SOXX -10.4% rout that briefly dragged ARM below $310.
Applied Materials rises 11.2% on Q2 earnings beat and multiple analyst target hikes
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) climbed 11.2% to $552.64, supported by strong second-quarter results reported this week and a series of upward analyst revisions. The company posted Q2 2026 revenue of $7.91 billion with earnings per share of $2.86, both above consensus estimates. Barclays raised its price target to $590 from $500, calling out stronger multi-year wafer-fab equipment forecasts and increased AI-linked DRAM spending. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its target to $650 from $575 and maintained an Overweight rating. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri increased his target to $570 from $515 with a Buy rating, citing secular demand from AI data center construction. Applied Materials is now up 105.5% year-to-date, placing it alongside LRCX as a direct beneficiary of the accelerating chip equipment cycle.
Intel gains 9.3% on rare BofA double upgrade; Google TPU foundry order anchors bull case
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) added 9.3% to $116.96, extending a year-to-date gain of 197% that has made it one of the most consequential turnaround stories in the 2026 AI cycle. Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya issued a rare double upgrade Thursday, moving Intel to Buy from Underperform and raising his price target to $135 from $96. Arya cited two specific drivers: stronger server CPU demand tied to agentic AI workloads and materially improved foundry visibility following reporting that Google plans to commission Intel to manufacture more than three million tensor processing units in 2028. The Google foundry relationship was first flagged in this column's June 8 recap, when Intel surged 11% on the initial news. At $116.96, Intel still trades 12.5% below its May 2026 high of $129.44, suggesting further room to recover if foundry execution holds.