Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $435.00 to $500.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $396.25 and last traded at $394.7250, with a volume of 2093046 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $385.72.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New product launch: Applied introduced two deposition systems (Trillium ALD and Precision selective PECVD) aimed at 2nm/GAA logic chips — a direct revenue/market‑share driver as foundries race to equip advanced AI chip nodes. Applied Materials Introduces Deposition Systems for Angstrom-Era Logic Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction/coverage: Multiple outlets report the launch as a breakthrough for next‑gen AI chip production, and coverage notes the product is already in use with leading foundry customers — supporting near‑term order flow expectations. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 9.0% After Launching 2nm GAA Deposition Tools For AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift: Susquehanna bumped its price target to $500 and assigned a “positive” rating, implying material upside from current levels and signaling stronger sell‑side conviction. Susquehanna raises AMAT price target to $500
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional recognition: Goldman Sachs listed AMAT among top semiconductor picks, reinforcing thematic investor interest in equipment suppliers benefiting from AI-driven capex. Goldman Sachs Names Teradyne (TER), Applied Materials (AMAT), AMD (AMD) as Top Semiconductor Picks
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/guidance context: Applied beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates and gave Q2 EPS guidance (2.44–2.84). The results validate execution but revenue was slightly down YoY — monitor upcoming bookings and guide cadence. AMAT recent earnings and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/flow support: Broader market tailwinds (e.g., easing geopolitical tensions) and tech rotation into AI names helped momentum but are external and may reverse. Dow Jones Futures Fall, Oil Prices Rise After Iran Ceasefire Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/run‑up risk: The stock has rallied strongly over the past year, prompting commentary that much upside may be priced in and increasing the risk of short‑term profit‑taking or volatility. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After 177% One Year Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Momentum caution: Historical patterns show stocks that double quickly can see sharp pullbacks; investors should weigh forward orders and execution against lofty multiples. How to Trade a Stock That Just Doubled

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $313.12 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $349.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.