Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Jumps 6.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares jumped 6.1% to $395.08 as semiconductor-equipment stocks rebounded ahead of earnings; investors are watching whether AI demand and equipment orders for high-bandwidth memory can keep the recovery going.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 30 analysts rate AMAT a Buy and nine a Hold, for a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $625.76 average price target. However, some recent valuation and price-target reductions cited margin concerns.
• In its latest reported quarter, Applied Materials beat estimates with adjusted earnings of $3.50 per share and $9.12 billion in revenue; it also issued Q4 2026 EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.1% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $404.71 and last traded at $395.08. 7,280,220 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 7,924,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.53.

Applied Materials News Roundup

Here's some of the latest news about AMAT:

• Positive Sentiment: Chip-equipment shares have rebounded after a difficult month, lifting AMAT ahead of earnings. Investors are watching whether AI-driven demand and orders for equipment used to expand high-bandwidth-memory capacity can sustain the recovery. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: ETF flows were supportive on Monday: funds bought a reported $317.1 million of AMAT, with more funds buying than selling. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst model revisions point to caution: one fair-value estimate was lowered, citing margin concerns, while B. Riley sharply reduced its price target. Both reports still indicate potential upside from their revised estimates, but the cuts may weigh on sentiment. Read More. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. New Street Research dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $625.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $313.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $441.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its position in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $729,211,000 after buying an additional 28,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company's offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

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