Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at William Blair

William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $534.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $563.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $444.45. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. Applied Materials reported adjusted earnings of $3.50 per share versus the $3.38–$3.40 consensus range, while revenue of $9.12 billion topped estimates near $9.0 billion. EPS increased from $2.48 a year earlier, and revenue grew approximately 25%. Applied Materials Beats Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued above-consensus fourth-quarter guidance. The company expects adjusted EPS of $3.82–$4.22 and revenue of $9.8–$10.8 billion, compared with Wall Street estimates of $3.65 and $9.5 billion, respectively. Management cited strong, ongoing demand for advanced chips tied to artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related semiconductor investment remains a key growth driver for Applied Materials, with analysts highlighting continued demand for its manufacturing solutions and the company’s investments in advanced process and materials research. Applied Materials Posts Higher Profit, Revenue on Continued AI Demand

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.