Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $260.00 to $390.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.26% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AMAT. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.89.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $327.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.16. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $331.00. The company has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction 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 $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.