Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price increased by Bank of America from $300.00 to $350.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.92% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.59.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $307.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.59. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $309.50. The company has a market capitalization of $243.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.