Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 2.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Applied Materials' stock price increased by 2.8% recently, trading at approximately $164.39 after a drop in trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with 17 ratings as Buy, but some downgrades, resulting in an average target price of $193.88.
• The company reported $2.48 EPS for its recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with quarterly revenue up 7.7% year-over-year.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $165.00 and last traded at $164.39. Approximately 2,295,091 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 7,410,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Summit Insights lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $130.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $183.29 and a 200 day moving average of $166.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 23,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,870,000 after buying an additional 8,462 shares during the period. Finally, Analog Century Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 364,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $59,328,000 after buying an additional 52,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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