Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Still a Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares were up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $398.95 and last traded at $395.93. 6,364,960 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 7,878,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.59.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to increase its ownership of Dutch chip-packaging equipment maker Besi to approximately 20%, up from about 9%, through an accelerated share purchase. The investment strengthens their partnership in advanced packaging and hybrid-bonding technologies used in artificial-intelligence and high-performance-computing hardware, signaling AMAT’s long-term commitment to AI-related semiconductor infrastructure. Applied Materials to Increase its Strategic Investment in BE Semiconductor Industries
• Positive Sentiment: Besi shares rose sharply following the announcement, highlighting investor enthusiasm for the companies’ combined position in next-generation chip assembly and packaging. The transaction could give AMAT deeper strategic access to growth markets driven by AI chip complexity. Shares in BE Semiconductor jump over 9% after Applied Materials raises stake to 20%
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein reiterated a Buy rating on AMAT, providing additional analyst support. Recent coverage has also focused on the company’s ambition to expand operating margins toward 40%, which could improve earnings growth if achieved. Applied Materials receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Neutral Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as buyers of AMAT, potentially adding technical support, but the impact may be limited compared with company-specific fundamentals. ETFs Are Buying Applied Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials remains exposed to a semiconductor-equipment selloff and concerns that cooling AI sentiment or a pause in capital spending could pressure near-term demand. The Besi investment also commits capital before the partnership’s potential revenue benefits are realized. Semiconductor Equipment Selloff Challenges Applied Materials

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a market cap of $314.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $468.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $440.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.