Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $530.00 to $740.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. 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 report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

AMAT traded up $13.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.29. The firm has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business 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 business earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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.

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.