Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $438.13 and last traded at $432.16. 4,796,883 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 7,349,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.36.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ new collaboration with Broadcom boosts its AI packaging story and highlights its importance in next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains constructive, with traders noting strong semiconductor sector momentum, improving technicals, and continued AI infrastructure demand supporting AMAT. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Opinions on Semiconductor Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still appears bullish on AMAT, with multiple recent buy/overweight ratings and price targets clustered well above current levels, reinforcing the stock’s longer-term upside case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader coverage continues to frame Applied Materials as a key beneficiary of AI and advanced packaging trends, but some of the related articles are commentary rather than new company-specific developments. Applied Materials (AMAT): “The Arms Dealer of the Semiconductor Revolution”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also highlighted the stock’s strong multi-year performance and its role among semiconductor equipment peers, which may support investor attention but do not add a major new catalyst. Here’s How Much You’d Have If You Invested $1000 in Applied Materials a Decade Ago
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is continued insider selling over the past six months, which can sometimes weigh on sentiment even when fundamentals remain strong.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.06. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summitry LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $288,000. WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $390,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $15,014,000. Wellington Grp LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the first quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.