Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $570.50, but opened at $627.31. Applied Materials shares last traded at $625.3650, with a volume of 2,069,892 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. One investment 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.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $573.19.

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 firm has a market capitalization of $485.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.35, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $509.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $398.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 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.