Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 2% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $309.50 and last traded at $307.24. 6,576,628 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 7,547,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $301.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho set a $275.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.89.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $255.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.62 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.