Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Climb 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was up 6.1% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $404.71 and last traded at $395.08. 7,280,220 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 7,924,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.53.

Applied Materials News Roundup

Investors following AMAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Chip-equipment shares have rebounded after a difficult month, lifting AMAT ahead of earnings. Investors are watching whether AI-driven demand and orders for equipment used to expand high-bandwidth-memory capacity can sustain the recovery. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst model revisions point to caution: one fair-value estimate was lowered, citing margin concerns, while B. Riley sharply reduced its price target. Both reports still indicate potential upside from their revised estimates, but the cuts may weigh on sentiment. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary warns that AMAT remains in a longer-term downtrend and may form a “death cross.” Concerns about China demand and the strength of AI-related orders could also determine whether the sector rebound lasts. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.76.

Applied Materials Stock Up 6.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $313.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $441.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $445.16.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.