Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $385.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $329.07 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $290.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $344.60. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied launched new deposition, etch and materials systems (Viva™, Sym3™ Z Magnum™, Spectral™ ALD) aimed at improving 2nm GAA transistor performance; tools are already being adopted by leading foundries, which supports revenue upside from AI-driven logic demand. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: recent upgrades/reiterates and higher price targets (e.g., RBC $385, UBS lift, Morgan Stanley overweight) reinforce upside expectations and likely support buying interest. UBS Lifts Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Target, Reiterates Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical setup improved after AMAT crossed above the 20‑day moving average, a short-term bullish sign that can attract momentum traders. AMAT Crossed Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Barchart previews expect AI-driven demand to support AMAT even as revenues/EPS may be down year-over-year in Q1 — this keeps sentiment mixed: long-term thesis remains intact but near-term prints could disappoint. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Positive Sentiment: Shares have climbed recently (monthly gains noted by coverage), reflecting investor appetite for AMAT’s exposure to wafer fab tools, advanced packaging and AI-related capex. AMAT Climbs 8% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales have been reported (several recent open‑market sales), which can weigh on sentiment for short windows even if not uncommon at large caps. Applied Materials Launches Advanced Chipmaking Systems (Quiver summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest data are mixed/noisy: January showed a material decline in short positions (fewer shorts = less downward pressure), but a February data entry was anomalous/unclear — noisy data can create uncertainty for traders relying on short‑interest signals.

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.