Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $530.00 to $650.00 in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on AMAT. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $13.84 on Friday, reaching $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $517.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

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.