Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Applied Materials has received a "hold (c)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating cautious sentiment among analysts regarding its stock performance.
• Shares of Applied Materials reached $217.51 during midday trading, showing a significant increase on the day amidst a trading volume of over 7.8 million shares.
• The company reported a better-than-expected EPS of $2.48 for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting a revenue growth of 7.7% year-over-year.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, September 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.85.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.51. 7,862,564 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,645,580. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $226.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.63 and a 200 day moving average of $170.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,409,320,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $1,085,600,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $882,396,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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