Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) were up 11.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $557.62 and last traded at $552.64. Approximately 12,194,860 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 7,543,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $497.01.
Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its outlook on chip-equipment demand, boosting confidence that AI-related capital spending will keep supporting the company’s growth. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts lifted price targets, including new Street-high expectations, reinforcing the view that AMAT still has upside after its strong run. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Scores a New Street-High Price Target from a Top Wall Street Analyst
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials highlighted its new $500 million Singapore expansion, which more than doubles advanced cleanroom capacity and is aimed at meeting rising AI-chip manufacturing demand. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand
- Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary pointed to record margins, improving revenue visibility, and a higher equipment-market outlook, suggesting the company may be entering a stronger growth phase. How Record Margins, AI Demand Visibility and Singapore Expansion At Applied Materials (AMAT) Has Changed Its Investment Story
- Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend, which is supportive for shareholders but not a major near-term growth catalyst. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.
Applied Materials Stock Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $438.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.89, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $418.73 and a 200 day moving average of $348.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 218.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.
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