Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $502.00 to $647.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.09.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $603.04 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $499.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $391.80. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $363,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 57.6% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,753,000 after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $366,000. Adelphi Trust Co acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $751,000. Finally, Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 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.