Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at B. Riley

B. Riley reiterated their buy rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $270.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $265.00. B. Riley also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.39 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.62 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.37 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.55 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.68 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.53 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.74.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

AMAT stock opened at $226.01 on Friday. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $242.50. The firm has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $212.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 155.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,937 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 27,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.5% during the first quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 34,686 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.