Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shot up 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $353.00 and last traded at $351.07. 4,492,782 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 8,061,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $345.88.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with Micron to co-develop AI‑focused memory technologies — boosts Applied’s addressable market for memory equipment and leverages its $5B EPIC Center R&D hub. Applied Materials and Micron Partner To Advance U.S. Innovation in Next-Generation AI Memory Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term R&D collaboration with SK hynix to accelerate advanced DRAM and high‑bandwidth memory development — validates demand for Applied’s process, materials and 3D packaging tools critical to AI compute scaling. Applied Materials and SK Hynix partner for next-gen AI memory development
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights AMAT as a winner in the AI trade despite broader sector and ETF weakness — supporting momentum flows into the stock. AMAT and Micron still winning in AI trade despite QQQ and sector weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage update: Erste Group initiated AMAT with a Hold, which may temper upside expectations until more visible order cadence/revenue from these partnerships appears. Erste Group Initiated Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) With a Hold Rating – Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at Cantor conference (transcript available) — useful for modeling management’s cadence and margin outlook but not an immediate catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at 2026 Cantor Global Technology & Industrial Growth Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term stock pullback/volatility: coverage and commentary point to recent profit‑taking and a short-term slide from recent highs despite strong free cash flow — a reminder of valuation sensitivity for a high‑growth cyclical. Applied Materials Q1 2026 Free Cash Flow Hit $1.04 Billion, So Why Is the Stock Sliding

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $278.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $329.54 and its 200-day moving average is $259.38.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.