Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $348.71 and last traded at $332.72. Approximately 9,444,192 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 7,907,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $319.25.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
- Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
- Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. New Street Research lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.01.
View Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Stock Up 4.2%
The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $444.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $444.66. The company has a market capitalization of $264.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $1,512,287,000. Amundi increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.
The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.
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