Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $520.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its Applied Materials price target from $650 to $520 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 36.5% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 29 analysts rate the stock Buy and 10 Hold, for a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $614.92.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and issued strong first-quarter 2027 guidance, with management citing AI-chip demand as a growth driver.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by Bank of America from $650.00 to $520.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 36.50% from the stock's current price.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $614.92.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $380.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $439.22 and a 200-day moving average of $445.83. The firm has a market cap of $302.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Summary

These are some of the AMAT news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 fiscal 2027 guidance was strong: revenue of $10.6 billion–$11.6 billion and EPS of $4.15–$4.55, with the revenue range above analysts’ expectations. Management expects AI-chip demand to support further growth and says Applied Materials could outgrow the wafer-fab equipment market again in 2027. Applied Materials forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said customer demand is strong, with some customers seeking earlier deliveries, but component sourcing and clean-room capacity limit how quickly the company can ship. China is expected to represent less than a quarter of shipments in 2027, reducing exposure but leaving export restrictions a consideration. Applied Materials earnings and outlook coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the results, the market’s response has been muted. Broader technology weakness and lingering Nvidia-related concerns may be tempering investor enthusiasm, while recent steep declines in chip-equipment shares have left investors looking for stronger confirmation that the recovery will continue. Applied Materials’ Beat Gets a Lukewarm Reception

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.

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