Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares shot up 5.2% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $513.28 and last traded at $512.01. 7,121,143 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 7,980,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $486.76.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) expanded their strategic partnership, with Besi joining Applied’s $5 billion EPIC Center as an innovation partner. The collaboration will target 3D integrated circuits, logic-memory integration, photonics, hybrid bonding and advanced die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel architectures—areas expected to benefit from continued AI infrastructure investment. Applied Materials and Besi Expand Strategic Partnership to Advance Next-Generation Packaging for AI Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: The Besi announcement follows Applied Materials’ partnership with KIOXIA to develop higher-density memory, multi-chip stacking and advanced memory structures at the EPIC Center. The announcements strengthen the company’s long-term positioning in AI-related memory and packaging equipment. Applied Materials and KIOXIA Partner at the EPIC Center to Advance Next-Generation Memory Technology
• Positive Sentiment: Technical coverage highlighted AMAT’s breakout above its 50-day moving average, suggesting improving short-term momentum and helping explain the stock’s gap higher. Applied Materials Recently Broke Out Above the 50-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains broadly optimistic about AI-driven memory demand and higher 2027 revenue and profit, although at least one analyst reduced the price target after AMAT’s substantial run-up.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face elevated expectations: AMAT trades at a relatively high valuation, while record equipment sales could be difficult to sustain if semiconductor capital spending normalizes. The company’s heavy dependence on tool sales also leaves results exposed to industry cycles. What Are Applied Materials Stock Investors Overlooking?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, New Street Research cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $629.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $486.07 and a 200 day moving average of $474.12. The firm has a market cap of $421.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.66, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,512,287,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.