Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Buy Rating at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their buy rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $700.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $640.17.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $507.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $564.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $444.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,512,287,000. J. Goldman & Co LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 135.3% in the second quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 4,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $1,045,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,234,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,615,513,000 after acquiring an additional 129,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 611,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $442,310,000 after acquiring an additional 146,353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

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.