Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $632.70

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirty have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $632.70.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $642.00 to $563.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $390.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $457.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $443.63. Applied Materials has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,158,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 11,548 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,905,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,561 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,346,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.