Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group upgraded Applied Materials from "hold" to "buy"; MarketBeat's analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $368.29.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates—EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21 expected and revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B—and set Q2 2026 EPS guidance of 2.440–2.840 while analysts project roughly 11.1 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Shares traded at $407.23 (down $9.81) near a 52‑week high of $420.50 with a market cap around $323.2B; insiders sold about 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) last quarter and institutional investors own roughly 80.6% of the stock.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AMAT. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $9.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $407.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 396,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,161,372. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $144.71 and a fifty-two week high of $420.50. The company has a market capitalization of $323.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $366.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.