Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) traded up 4.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $460.20 and last traded at $454.71. 5,983,282 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 8,129,665 shares. The stock had previously closed at $435.91.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI-related and memory stocks were among the market’s strongest performers, providing a favorable backdrop for Applied Materials as semiconductor manufacturers expand capacity to meet AI demand. Memory, Other AI-Related Stocks Lead the Market’s Top Performers Friday
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise expectations for Applied Materials. One report highlighted that management increased its forecast twice between February and August, helping explain the stock’s significant rerating despite trailing revenue growth of 7.8%. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
- Positive Sentiment: Rising global fab investments and AI-led demand for advanced packaging, DRAM and HBM are expected to support Applied Materials’ wafer-fabrication-equipment business and sustain momentum if semiconductor spending remains strong. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
- Positive Sentiment: UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 earnings-per-share estimate, reinforcing the bullish outlook. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials Stock FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
- Neutral Sentiment: Although the stock has delivered exceptional long-term gains, investors are reassessing whether its valuation still leaves meaningful upside after the recent pullback and sharp multiyear run. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After A 237% Run?
- Negative Sentiment: Industry optimism includes a caution that future memory-capacity constraints could create risks for parts of the semiconductor cycle, potentially limiting or delaying equipment-demand growth. SEMI’s CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $740.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.
Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $536.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.63.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 70,976.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $629,149,306,000 after acquiring an additional 868,968,380 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
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.
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