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

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $465.00 to $540.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $463.89.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $436.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock 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. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $448.45.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’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 transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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)

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.