Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 6.9% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares shot up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $302.78 and last traded at $301.18. 9,424,025 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 7,700,437 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.11.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $238.82 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.29 and a 200 day moving average of $212.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted 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 bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.