Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s share price was up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $348.71 and last traded at $332.72. 9,444,192 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 7,907,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $319.25.
More Applied Materials News
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
- Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
- Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.01.
View Our Latest Research Report on AMAT
Applied Materials Stock Performance
The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $447.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.59. The firm has a market cap of $264.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. 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 – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Applied Materials
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.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.
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