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

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Applied Materials from $454 to $502 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 13.95% upside from the prior close.
• The company reported strong fiscal Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both beating estimates; revenue also rose 11.4% year over year.
• Applied Materials also raised Q3 guidance, and analysts remain broadly positive overall, with 28 Buy ratings versus 7 Holds and a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $454.00 to $502.00 in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.95% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.17.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $440.56 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $448.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $377.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.63 billion, a PE ratio of 45.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Dempze Nancy E raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 12,608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $426,000. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 60.4% during the first quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Boreal Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $122,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $24,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials beat Q2 estimates, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing that demand for semiconductor equipment remains strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised guidance for Q3, with revenue outlook above consensus, signaling management expects AI and data-center spending to keep fueling orders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record or near-record margins, suggesting Applied Materials is benefiting from strong operating leverage as AI-related demand scales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, including a TD Cowen reaffirmation of Buy and a higher price target, which can support the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews and earnings-call coverage focused on the same core theme: investors are watching whether AI spending can offset softer China demand and export restrictions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the strong results, some reports noted the stock traded lower in premarket, suggesting profit-taking or heightened expectations after a steep rally may be limiting immediate upside. 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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