Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 4% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded up 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $472.89 and last traded at $472.79. Approximately 6,266,231 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 8,108,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $454.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $528.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.21 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Timothy Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.