Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $426.52 and last traded at $421.66. 6,599,820 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 7,868,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.00.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $457.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $443.63. The company has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.