Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 2.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares rose 2.9% on Wednesday, trading as high as $578.14 before closing at $570.50, with volume slightly below average.
• Investor sentiment stayed upbeat thanks to AI-driven demand and advanced packaging growth opportunities, with management targeting more than 50% packaging revenue growth in 2026.
• Wall Street remained constructive: several analysts raised price targets, including Morgan Stanley’s $647 target, while MarketBeat showed a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $569.65 price target.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $578.14 and last traded at $570.50. Approximately 7,512,819 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 8,318,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $554.50.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials highlighted its advanced packaging opportunity, with management targeting more than 50% packaging revenue growth in 2026 as AI demand drives HBM, 3D chiplets and next-generation packaging adoption. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT was also named a Zacks Rank #1 “Strong Buy” momentum stock, reinforcing bullish sentiment around its earnings momentum and AI-related demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained constructive, with Morgan Stanley reportedly raising its price target on Applied Materials to $647, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside despite recent volatility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market pieces framed AMAT as part of a broader memory-chip selloff and asked whether it is a buy after the drawdown, reflecting uncertainty rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT also saw a sharp one-day pullback amid an industry-wide chip and tech selloff tied to weaker sentiment after Samsung earnings and broader risk-off trading. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $569.65.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $506.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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