Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to a moderate buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.25.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $327.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $331.00.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 35,012 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after buying an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s $52–$56B 2026 capex guidance creates near‑term, high‑certainty demand for equipment suppliers like Applied Materials — MarketBeat explains that TSMC must buy new, specialized deposition and other tools (benefitting AMAT) to move to 2nm production. The $56 Billion Draft: Follow TSMC’s CapEx Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Applied topped out at a new all‑time high as investors front‑run TSMC-driven equipment demand; KeyBanc says AMAT can push higher in 2026. Applied Materials Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Should You Buy AMAT Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side upgrades (Barclays, RBC, Stifel and others) have raised ratings/targets and highlighted AMAT’s exposure to AI capex and HBM growth, supporting upward price momentum. Applied Materials, AEI Industries, MKS in focus as KeyBanc ups targets
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade specifically cited AI‑driven fab spending as a catalyst, which helped spur intraday gains. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business hit $1.5B in FY25 and is positioned to double as memory/AI packaging ramps — a structural growth driver cited by analysts. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary offers trade ideas and allocation strategies (e.g., “drafting the titan”) that favor equipment vendors instead of chip designers — useful context but not a direct company update. Here Is A Smart Way To Invest In AMAT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is due to report its next quarter soon; analysts expect a single‑digit EPS decrease, so near‑term guidance and orders will be watched closely for confirmation of the TSMC-driven rebound. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning risk: AMAT is trading near its 52‑week high with elevated multiples (PE/PEG), so any hiccup in order timing, customer pushouts or margin guidance could trigger a pullback. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is a Trending 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.