Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Seaport Research Partners

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Seaport Research Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.86.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.0%

AMAT stock opened at $410.82 on Monday. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $151.51 and a twelve month high of $420.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $369.34 and a 200 day moving average of $308.46.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

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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