Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Erste Group Bank

Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $11.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $346.25. 1,571,223 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,040,227. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $323.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,409,320,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. 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.