Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $454.00 to $502.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.95% from the stock’s previous close.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.17.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $440.56 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $448.45. The company has a market capitalization of $349.63 billion, a PE ratio of 45.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $377.52 and a 200 day moving average of $318.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Dempze Nancy E increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 12,608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,309,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.4% in the first quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.3% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $24,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials beat Q2 estimates, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing that demand for semiconductor equipment remains strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised guidance for Q3, with revenue outlook above consensus, signaling management expects AI and data-center spending to keep fueling orders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record or near-record margins, suggesting Applied Materials is benefiting from strong operating leverage as AI-related demand scales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, including a TD Cowen reaffirmation of Buy and a higher price target, which can support the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews and earnings-call coverage focused on the same core theme: investors are watching whether AI spending can offset softer China demand and export restrictions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the strong results, some reports noted the stock traded lower in premarket, suggesting profit-taking or heightened expectations after a steep rally may be limiting immediate upside. Article Title

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.