Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $440.50 and last traded at $436.61. 6,979,900 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 7,197,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $431.20.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is expected to benefit from strong DRAM, logic, and foundry demand, with its AI-driven semiconductor systems business gaining traction ahead of Q2 results.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have raised price targets on AMAT, reflecting optimism tied to the AI chip boom and continued strength in semiconductor equipment spending.
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to develop next-generation materials, equipment, and process technologies, which reinforces its role in AI chip manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and others highlighted a broader shortage of semiconductor equipment, which could support demand for Applied Materials’ products.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are watching Thursday’s earnings closely, with some reports suggesting the stock could make a new high if results and guidance exceed expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and trading commentary show elevated interest ahead of the report, but that also means the shares may see a sharp post-earnings move in either direction.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $432.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.52.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $374.44 and a 200-day moving average of $315.66. The stock has a market cap of $346.50 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.