Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Applied Materials from $465 to $540 and kept a buy rating, implying about 22.7% upside from the previous close.
• The latest earnings report was strong, with Applied Materials beating estimates on both EPS and revenue and posting year-over-year revenue growth of 11.4%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: multiple firms lifted price targets after the results, and the stock has 28 Buy ratings versus 7 Hold ratings, with an average target price of $454.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $465.00 to $540.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.71% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AMAT. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group set a $515.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $454.79.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $440.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,024,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,324,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The business's fifty day moving average price is $377.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.62. The firm has a market cap of $349.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The company'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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials reported record fiscal Q2 results, with earnings and revenue both topping expectations, showing that AI-related chip equipment demand remains very strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued upbeat Q3 guidance above Wall Street estimates, signaling continued momentum from AI infrastructure spending and healthy customer demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more constructive after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including JPMorgan, Mizuho, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, and Needham, reflecting confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted a multi-year AI boom and stronger wafer fab equipment demand, reinforcing the view that Applied Materials could sustain growth through 2027-2028. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong earnings beat, the stock has been volatile intraday as traders react to the large year-to-date rally and broader swings in semiconductor and growth stocks. Article Title

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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