Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $205.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.48.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $258.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market capitalization of $205.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $276.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $238.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.