Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $674.99 and last traded at $689.68, with a volume of 4043364 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $626.84.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc boosted its price target on Applied Materials and kept a constructive stance, helping fuel a sharp rally as investors positioned ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report.
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald also raised its price target to $850 and maintained an Overweight rating, reinforcing the view that AMAT still has upside after its strong run.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting earnings estimates, including Erste Group’s higher FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts, signaling confidence in Applied Materials’ profit growth.
• Positive Sentiment: The stock hit fresh record highs and was highlighted as one of the hottest names in tech after a massive June surge, with AI-driven demand and stronger semiconductor capital spending boosting expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to the Russell Top 50 Index, which can increase index-fund ownership and trading attention, though the immediate earnings impact is limited.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some traders are warning the stock is extremely overbought after its historic run, so near-term volatility or a pullback is possible if results fail to meet elevated expectations.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment 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, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.56.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.1%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $486.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $384.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $574.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.89, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.