Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) rose 3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $276.10 and last traded at $275.15. Approximately 6,106,853 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 7,638,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.74.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0%

The stock has a market cap of $219.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,830,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $381,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,236,000 after acquiring an additional 6,657 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,640,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.