Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 6.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 6.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $324.40 and last traded at $322.51. 8,217,671 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 8,155,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.99.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $255.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $288.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.52.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,409,320,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.