Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 6.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was up 6.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $445.00 and last traded at $444.57. Approximately 14,042,954 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,048,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $417.40.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks rallied broadly, with Lam Research leading and Applied Materials and KLA Corp. also advancing. The concentrated buying suggests investors are favoring semiconductor manufacturing tools amid expectations for sustained AI-related capacity expansion. Lam Research Climbs 5% as Chip Equipment Names Outrun the Sector
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced plans to invest approximately $5 billion in India over the next decade, including a semiconductor research park. The project could expand the company’s research-and-development footprint, deepen customer and government relationships, and position AMAT to benefit from India’s developing semiconductor supply chain. Applied Materials to Invest $5 Billion in India
• Positive Sentiment: Recent research continues to highlight Applied Materials’ market leadership in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and its exposure to AI-driven chip demand, supporting the longer-term investment case relative to other technology stocks. Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary also points to broader big-tech strength and technical factors behind the session’s advance, including support levels and analyst price targets. These may reinforce short-term momentum but do not represent a material change to Applied Materials’ fundamentals. What’s Going On With Applied Materials Stock Friday?
• Negative Sentiment: The India initiative requires substantial long-term spending and may take years to generate meaningful returns, creating execution and capital-allocation risks if local semiconductor manufacturing develops more slowly than expected.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $501.32 and a 200 day moving average of $465.68. The stock has a market cap of $352.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.78 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 86,821 shares of company stock worth $59,609,471 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.