Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 2.5% – Should You Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded up 2.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $330.19 and last traded at $327.01. 11,349,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average session volume of 8,105,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $319.08.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s $52–$56B 2026 capex guidance creates near‑term, high‑certainty demand for equipment suppliers like Applied Materials — MarketBeat explains that TSMC must buy new, specialized deposition and other tools (benefitting AMAT) to move to 2nm production. The $56 Billion Draft: Follow TSMC’s CapEx Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Applied topped out at a new all‑time high as investors front‑run TSMC-driven equipment demand; KeyBanc says AMAT can push higher in 2026. Applied Materials Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Should You Buy AMAT Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side upgrades (Barclays, RBC, Stifel and others) have raised ratings/targets and highlighted AMAT’s exposure to AI capex and HBM growth, supporting upward price momentum. Applied Materials, AEI Industries, MKS in focus as KeyBanc ups targets
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade specifically cited AI‑driven fab spending as a catalyst, which helped spur intraday gains. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business hit $1.5B in FY25 and is positioned to double as memory/AI packaging ramps — a structural growth driver cited by analysts. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary offers trade ideas and allocation strategies (e.g., “drafting the titan”) that favor equipment vendors instead of chip designers — useful context but not a direct company update. Here Is A Smart Way To Invest In AMAT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is due to report its next quarter soon; analysts expect a single‑digit EPS decrease, so near‑term guidance and orders will be watched closely for confirmation of the TSMC-driven rebound. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning risk: AMAT is trading near its 52‑week high with elevated multiples (PE/PEG), so any hiccup in order timing, customer pushouts or margin guidance could trigger a pullback. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is a Trending Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.25.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was 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 $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Omnia Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Tenon Financial LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Values Added Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 9,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.