Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from hold to buy, adding to a recent wave of bullish analyst actions. Overall, 27 analysts rate the stock Buy and eight Hold, with a consensus Moderate Buy and average price target of $465.14.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.86 versus estimates of $2.68 and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion expected. Revenue rose 11.4% year over year, and the company guided Q3 2026 EPS to 3.16–3.56.
• The stock was trading around $432.16, near its 52-week high of $448.45, and is backed by heavy institutional ownership of 80.56%. Insider selling was modest, with directors and executives selling shares over the past 90 days.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $432.16 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $448.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $387.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.06.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, 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 transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% 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, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during 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 boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during 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. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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