Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 3.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 3.4% to roughly $374, propelled by an AI-driven demand narrative and multiple analyst upgrades, with several firms raising targets to $450 and reiterating buy/overweight ratings.
• Applied Materials beat the quarter — EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21 expected and revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B — and provided Q2 2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12), while valuation and ownership metrics show a market cap of $296.8B, a P/E of ~38.3, and about 80.6% institutional ownership.

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) shot up 3.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $379.99 and last traded at $373.99. 6,306,675 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 7,855,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.79.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/media commentary frames AMAT as an AI beneficiary — Tematica Research’s CIO and other guests argued a recent pullback may be a buying opportunity because Applied Materials stands to gain from strong AI-driven chip demand. How Applied Materials stock presents an AI opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Company narrative around an “AI push” highlighted after the Cantor Fitzgerald presentation — coverage explains AMAT’s strategic positioning and product demand tied to data-center and AI chip ramp, which supports revenue/earnings growth expectations. What’s Behind Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)’s AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in dividend/active ETF conversations may attract inflows — MarketBeat notes AMAT is held in actively managed dividend ETFs (e.g., CGDV), which can bring steady institutional and retail demand even amid volatility. Active ETFs Surge Past Passive, and These Are in the Lead
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other sites flag AMAT as a “trending”/heavily searched stock — higher attention can amplify moves but is not itself a directional catalyst; useful for short-term volatility monitoring. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader dividend-rotation stories are driving investor interest in income and dividend-bearing tech names — AMAT isn’t listed as a dividend raiser in those pieces but could benefit indirectly from rotation into dividend/quality tech exposures. 5 Dividend Stocks Raise Payouts for Steady Income Amid Volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical risk is a near-term headwind — markets slid on geopolitical headlines (Dow futures down, oil up), which can pressure cyclical semiconductor capex sentiment and introduce volatility into AMAT shares. Dow Jones Futures Fall, Oil Prices Rise After Trump Threats To 'Obliterate' Iran's Power Plants

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.38. The stock has a market cap of $296.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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