Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Applied Materials from $432 to $454 and maintained an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 10.23% upside from the prior close.
• Shares rose about 5.2% to $411.86 amid several analyst upgrades (UBS to $480, Susquehanna to $500), though the MarketBeat consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $370.86 average target.
• Q1 results beat estimates with EPS of $2.38 and revenue of $7.01 billion, and the company guided Q2 EPS to a range of $2.44–$2.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $432.00 to $454.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 10.23% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $20.48 on Tuesday, reaching $411.86. 2,884,386 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,131,153. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $368.64 and a 200-day moving average of $307.17. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $151.51 and a 52-week high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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