Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $500.00 at Mizuho

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price hoisted by Mizuho from $410.00 to $500.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $463.89.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $153.47 and a 52 week high of $448.45. The company has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $379.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.