Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.17.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $507.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $564.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.77. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

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.