Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Applied Materials has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 35 analysts, with 27 buy ratings and an average 1-year price target of about $501.26.
• The company reported strong fiscal Q2 results, beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, and it also issued Q3 guidance calling for EPS of $3.16 to $3.56.
• Shares have traded sharply higher, with the stock recently opening at $585.88, while valuation concerns persist given its elevated P/E and reports that some investors see the rally as stretched.

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $501.2581.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $459.63 and a 200 day moving average of $370.55. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $641.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $465.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

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.

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