Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) were up 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $472.89 and last traded at $472.79. Approximately 6,266,231 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 8,108,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $454.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.0%

The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.21 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $528.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $462.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.