Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.04.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $369.30 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $376.32. The firm has a market cap of $293.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,609 shares of company stock worth $2,914,628 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after buying an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and guidance — AMAT beat Q4/Q1 consensus and management set aggressive forward guidance (Q2 EPS range and multi‑year growth commentary), which underpins current upside momentum. 3 Under-the-Radar Earnings Surprises Could Signal a New Trend (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and estimate revisions — Zacks moved AMAT to a Strong Buy and multiple firms raised price targets (Goldman, Barclays, UBS, Stifel noted raising targets), reinforcing buy-side conviction and supporting higher valuations. Applied Materials (AMAT) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options flow — unusually heavy call buying (~97,138 calls, +231% vs. average) signals traders positioning for further upside or hedging existing longs; this can amplify intraday moves and short‑term sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary — some outlets flag conflicting views on valuation/sector rotation despite strong fundamentals, creating variable near‑term sentiment. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Technology Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting appears unreliable — public feeds show zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover, which is likely a data glitch and not informative for positioning today.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M) at about $361.21, trimming his stake ~3.5%. Routine personally motivated sales can be interpreted negatively by some investors even when small relative to total holdings. SEC Form 4

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.