Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given New $600.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $700.00 to $600.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 57.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.53.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

AMAT stock opened at $380.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $439.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.83. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. 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 sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,512,287,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

Investors following AMAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 fiscal 2027 guidance was strong: revenue of $10.6 billion–$11.6 billion and EPS of $4.15–$4.55, with the revenue range above analysts’ expectations. Management expects AI-chip demand to support further growth and says Applied Materials could outgrow the wafer-fab equipment market again in 2027. Applied Materials forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said customer demand is strong, with some customers seeking earlier deliveries, but component sourcing and clean-room capacity limit how quickly the company can ship. China is expected to represent less than a quarter of shipments in 2027, reducing exposure but leaving export restrictions a consideration. Applied Materials earnings and outlook coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the results, the market’s response has been muted. Broader technology weakness and lingering Nvidia-related concerns may be tempering investor enthusiasm, while recent steep declines in chip-equipment shares have left investors looking for stronger confirmation that the recovery will continue. Applied Materials’ Beat Gets a Lukewarm Reception

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.