Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Keeps “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $600.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 34.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $17.61 on Wednesday, hitting $446.63. The company had a trading volume of 8,448,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,851,962. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $486.82 and a 200-day moving average of $484.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 8,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,116,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 31.7% during the third quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 926 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 472.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 93,087 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,603,000 after purchasing an additional 76,812 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 61,377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JM2 Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. JM2 Capital Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and set a $600 price target, while the average Wall Street target implies approximately 39% potential upside. Analysts also point to positive earnings-estimate revisions. Wall Street analyst price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ investor-day strategy calls for gaining more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, expanding eBeam equipment revenue to $2 billion in 2026, and growing semiconductor-services revenue above $12 billion by 2030. Applied Materials growth targets
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled its approximately $5 billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley, with partners including Intel, Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung, to accelerate AI-chip process development and commercialization. Applied Ventures also invested in Flexcompute’s physics-based AI modeling platform to speed semiconductor R&D. EPIC Center announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS on $9.12 billion of revenue, with revenue up 24.8% year over year. However, its valuation near 39 times earnings leaves the shares sensitive to any slowdown in AI or semiconductor spending.
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate catalyst for the decline was investor disappointment with the clarity and scale of the company’s 2030 outlook. Although management described the targets as conservative, investors may have expected more aggressive growth, margin or hiring details, creating uncertainty around the payoff from the EPIC investment. Applied Materials 2030 guidance analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment stocks broadly sold off as investors took profits after a strong AI-driven run, while weakness in Asian markets and concerns about chip-sector momentum added pressure to AMAT. Semiconductor equipment sector selloff

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.