Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $370.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $275.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Twenty-four equities research 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $341.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.16. The stock has a market cap of $270.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to “Outperform” and raised its price target to $370 (from $275), citing a “significant acceleration” in wafer fab equipment demand — a direct near-term catalyst for order momentum and revenue visibility. AMAT stock: Mizuho sees ‘significant acceleration’ in WFE, upgrades rating
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc bumped its price target to $380 and Goldman Sachs lists AMAT among top semiconductor picks — reinforcing conviction across the sell side that Applied will benefit from rising deposition/etch intensity and diversified exposure across fabs. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains Analyst Support as Multi-Year Semiconductor Tailwinds Take Shape
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (Jim Cramer) is amplifying demand narratives — Cramer called AMAT a name with a shortage that “can’t be met,” which can drive retail/inflow interest and shorter-term multiple expansion. Applied Materials (AMAT) Has a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst pieces frame AMAT as a likely industry leader in 2026 (expectations of durable demand and margin leverage). That consensus bullishness supports higher forward multiples and investor appetite for shares. Analysts Expect Applied Materials Stock to Dominate in 2026. Should You Buy Shares Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note AMAT is rising while the broader market dips — useful context for relative strength but not a company-specific fundamental change. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed appear to be erroneous/zeroed — no actionable signal from the published short-interest item (treat as data noise until an official update).

About Applied Materials

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.