Erste Group Bank Issues Positive Estimate for AMAT Earnings

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Applied Materials in a report issued on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now forecasts that the manufacturing equipment provider will earn $17.13 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $17.02. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $12.17 per share.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $522.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $560.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $439.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s 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.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.3% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised longer-term earnings expectations. An analyst increased the FY2027 EPS forecast, suggesting continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment demand and earnings trajectory. FY2027 EPS Forecast for Applied Materials Lifted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center investment remain major growth drivers. Applied Materials supplies equipment used to manufacture advanced chips, and potential semiconductor demand from Tesla and SpaceX’s proposed $16.8 billion “Terafab” project could benefit AMAT and other chip-equipment suppliers. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SpaceX, Tesla, KLA Corp, Onto Innovation, Applied Materials and Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: The investment case includes solid fundamentals and shareholder returns. Coverage highlights AMAT’s AI exposure, broad technology portfolio, strong profitability and dividend history. Its latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and EPS, while management provided third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.16 to $3.56. Applied Materials’ dividends: History, yield and payout ratio explained
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Analysts expect approximately $3.39 in Q3 EPS on roughly $9 billion of revenue, while previews emphasize key operating metrics beyond headline results. The stock’s implied earnings move is potentially sizable, increasing short-term volatility. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: High expectations and valuation leave little room for disappointment. AMAT has rallied significantly over the past year but remains well below its yearly peak. With a reported P/E ratio near 49, investors may be taking profits or reducing exposure ahead of earnings unless the outlook clearly supports current expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor-sector volatility is another headwind. Weakness in major equipment stocks, including ASML, following China-related headlines may be weighing on sentiment toward the entire chip-equipment group, even though the recent AMAT coverage is predominantly bullish.

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.