Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $675.00 to $695.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 51.59% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $458.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $547.17 and its 200 day moving average is $458.57. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $363.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $28,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.