Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares rose 1.9% after Cantor Fitzgerald increased its price target to $550 from $500 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock.
• Other analysts remain mostly positive, with HSBC initiating coverage at a buy and several firms raising targets, though Zacks recently downgraded the stock to hold. Overall, AMAT still carries a Moderate Buy consensus from analysts.
• The company is set to report earnings later this week, and investors are watching for results, guidance, and signs of strength in AI-related demand, HBM, and advanced packaging. Applied Materials also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $550.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $448.45 and last traded at $443.62. 7,894,372 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 7,200,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $435.44.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AMAT. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.66.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials to $550 from $500 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside ahead of earnings. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: A new partnership with TSMC to accelerate AI scaling at Applied’s EPIC Center could strengthen its innovation pipeline and support demand for its semiconductor equipment over time. Applied Materials and TSMC Partner at the EPIC Center to Accelerate AI Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary point to AI-driven demand, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) traction, and advanced packaging momentum as key tailwinds heading into earnings. AMAT to Post Q2 Earnings: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials is also in focus because it is set to report earnings later this week, making the stock sensitive to any surprise in results, guidance, or order trends. Inflation Readings, Cisco and AMAT Earnings, and More to Watch This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market strength and a rally in chip stocks are providing a supportive backdrop, but macro events like inflation data could still influence trading in AMAT. Market Preview: Inflation Data, Consumer Spending Reports, and Major Earnings on Deck

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.9%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $371.10 and a 200 day moving average of $311.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

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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