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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. semiconductor equipment supplier Lam Research (O:LRCX) could rise 20 percent in the coming year as manufacturers put more memory chips into cars, watches, refrigerators and other machines, Barron's said.
Expected demand from China, which is said to be constructing at least five mainland chip-making plants, will give an additional sales boost to makers of etching and lithography machines and other chip equipment such as Lam Research, the U.S. financial weekly said on Saturday.
"Lam Research shares could gain another 20 percent in the coming year, whether or not China quickly ramps up its spending on chip equipment," Barron's columnist Jack Hough wrote.
The internet has produced needs for processors and memory beyond personal computers, as more machines gain the ability to compute and to connect online, according to Hough.
If earnings forecasts were to stay the same, a 20 percent increase would lift Lam's shares to $190 from Friday's close of $157.78, he said.