Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price traded up 3.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $344.34 and last traded at $339.88. 7,053,854 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 8,149,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.07.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied rolled out new deposition, etch and materials systems (Viva™, Sym3™ Z Magnum™, Spectral™ ALD) designed for 2nm GAA transistors and molybdenum contacts — technologies that target performance and energy-efficiency gains for AI chips and are being adopted by leading foundries. This supports medium‑term revenue upside if wafer‑fab customers ramp tools. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung Electronics will join Applied’s new $5 billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley, a high-profile R&D collaboration that strengthens customer ties and can accelerate tool qualification and future equipment orders. Strategic partnerships with top foundries reduce adoption risk for Applied’s advanced systems. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: RBC reaffirmed an outperform rating with a $385 target and multiple firms have raised price targets (median ~$350), validating bullish expectations for AMAT’s growth from AI, memory and advanced packaging tailwinds. Analyst momentum lends support to the recent rally. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple previews (Zacks, Barchart, Seeking Alpha) expect Q1 strength driven by AI lift in wafer fab equipment, DRAM/NAND and display demand, but note elevated valuation after the run‑up; earnings will likely be the immediate catalyst for next moves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary (Investopedia, Yahoo/MSN) highlights that traders expect a sizable post‑earnings move — which increases short‑term volatility potential even if underlying fundamentals look strong. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity and warnings about stretched valuation are noted in coverage; some pieces caution that the rally has priced in strong order momentum, so any guidance shortfall or weaker orders could trigger a pullback. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in feeds showed mixed/erroneous entries (some zero values) but the clean Jan 30 report showed short interest fell ~14.6% to ~13.7M shares (≈1.7% of float), which slightly reduces immediate short‑squeeze risk. Treat the conflicting short‑interest notices as a data anomaly. (No single article link — source: exchange short‑interest releases summarized in feeds.)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.15.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $290.86 and its 200 day moving average is $233.85. The stock has a market cap of $269.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.