Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given New $530.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lifted by Needham & Company LLC from $440.00 to $530.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $463.89.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $436.62 on Friday. Applied Materials has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $379.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position 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 worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

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.