Applied Materials’ (AMAT) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $600.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.8%

Applied Materials stock opened at $409.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $324.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $480.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $485.08.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $1,249,000. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 18,199 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 29,521 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,096,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 33.7% during the third quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock’s Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.