Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at B. Riley Securities

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at B. Riley Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $450.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $400.00. B. Riley Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 37.00% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.21.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $328.46 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $293.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $344.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 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 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and bullish guidance — AMAT topped EPS and revenue estimates and guided Q2 above Street expectations, citing strong orders for AI processors and tighter memory supply that should support equipment demand. Applied Materials jumps as AI demand drives chipmaking tool orders (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms upgraded AMAT (Summit to Buy) and raised targets (Mizuho, Needham, B. Riley among others), reinforcing bullish expectations for WFE/AI tailwinds. Summit upgrades Applied Materials to Buy (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlook and strategic wins — Management projects strong secular growth (CEO flagged >20% WFE revenue growth opportunity) and announced Samsung joining AMAT’s new EPIC R&D center — supports longer‑term market share and product roadmap. Applied Materials stock jumps after earnings (MarketWatch)
• Neutral Sentiment: Export‑probe resolution removes regulatory overhang — AMAT reached a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Dept. that closes DOJ/SEC reviews, which reduces legal uncertainty even as the company acknowledges compliance issues. Applied Materials Reaches Resolution with the U.S. Department of Commerce (GlobeNewswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and market context — Broader market headwinds (soft futures ahead of CPI) and sector rotation can amplify volatility in semicap names despite company‑specific strength. 5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens (Investopedia)
• Negative Sentiment: Settlement cost — the BIS settlement carries a cash payment (~$252.5M) that is a one‑time hit and raises governance/compliance questions for some investors. Applied Materials to pay $252 million to resolve illegal chip exports (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit‑taking risk — AMAT has run sharply higher YTD and some voices have flagged stretched multiples and near‑term profit‑taking, which likely explains today’s pullback after the post‑earnings spike. Applied Materials stock falls ahead of earnings as Lynx sounds caution (Investing.com)

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.