Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Applied Materials has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 39 brokerages, with 30 buy ratings, eight holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $629.38.
• Strong recent financial performance: Quarterly revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, while EPS of $3.50 exceeded estimates of $3.40. Analysts forecast $12.79 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• AI-driven growth supports the outlook, but valuation is elevated: Partnerships focused on advanced packaging and memory production could benefit from expanding AI demand, while AMAT trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 45.6. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the stock, although two insiders recently sold shares.

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $629.38.

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $850.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 215,839 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $156,051,000 after purchasing an additional 20,447 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,068,335 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $715,458,000 after buying an additional 70,642 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.4% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 126,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $91,264,000 after buying an additional 32,340 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $12,291,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AI packaging partnership: BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) is joining Applied Materials’ $5 billion EPIC Center as an innovation partner. The collaboration will target 3D integrated circuits, hybrid bonding, thermo-compression bonding, panel-scale packaging, and photonics for AI systems. The announcement strengthens Applied’s position in advanced packaging, a potentially important growth market as chipmakers scale AI hardware. Applied Materials and Besi Expand Strategic Partnership to Advance Next-Generation Packaging for AI Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: AI and memory demand support the growth outlook: Investor commentary highlights expanding AI compute capacity, persistent memory shortages, and rising demand for advanced memory production tools. Applied’s EPIC Center partnership with KIOXIA is focused on memory-cell structures, chip stacking, density, and manufacturability for future AI workloads, potentially extending equipment demand beyond the current cycle. AI Compute Expansion and Memory Shortages Extend Applied Materials’ Growth Runway
• Positive Sentiment: Improving technical momentum: Recent coverage notes that AMAT broke above its 50-day moving average, which technical investors may interpret as confirmation that the longer-term uptrend remains intact. Applied Materials Recently Broke Out Above the 50-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and expectations are elevated: Comparisons with ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing emphasize Applied Materials’ broader AI exposure and comparatively lower valuation, but the stock’s approximately 45.6 price-to-earnings ratio already reflects substantial growth expectations. One analyst reduced the price target despite forecasting higher 2027 sales and profits, signaling potential near-term upside limitations.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $529.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $420.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $485.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.44. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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