Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $172.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from $169.00 to $172.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating, indicating an 8.63% potential downside from the current stock price.
• Various brokerages have differing views on AMAT, with B. Riley reducing its target to $215.00 but retaining a "buy" rating, while Evercore ISI set a target of $209.00 with an "outperform" rating.
• Applied Materials recently reported a strong quarterly performance, exceeding earnings expectations with $2.48 EPS and revenues of $7.30 billion, reflecting a 7.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $169.00 to $172.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.16% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. B. Riley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.5060 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.0240. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,959,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,393,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $184.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.42. The firm has a market cap of $130.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 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.