DA Davidson analyst Thomas Diffely lowered his price target on Lam Research (LRCX) to $225 and also lowered his FY19 EPS view to $14.75 from $16.15 ahead of its earnings tomorrow, saying the company's call will "set the tone" for the rest of the "semicap" earnings season. The analyst notes that prior expectations called for a trough in Q3 and some modest recovery in Q4, but now anticipates the sluggishness to continue into Q4. Diffely keeps his Buy rating on Lam Research however, urging investors to be "aggressive buyers" on any weakness from softer Q4 guidance. He states that the semiconductor recovery should begin in early 2019 and ramp throughout the year with "key drivers already in place for the delayed projects to resume". The analyst further notes that the "pushouts" from Intel (INTC) and TSMC (TSM) were likely the "function of yield optimization and timing related issues" rather than "diminishing long term industry fundamentals".

Unusual total active option classes on open include: Wrap Technologies (WRAP), AstraZeneca (AZN), JetBlue (JBLU), United Continental (UAL), Taiwan Semi (TSM), Nokia (NOK), EBay (EBAY), Maplebear Inc (CART), Airbnb (ABNB), and UnitedHealth (UNH).

Gross profit margin is expected to be between 51% and 53%; Operating profit margin is expected to be between 40% and 42%.