Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $435.00 to $500.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $396.25 and last traded at $394.7250, with a volume of 2093046 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $385.72.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.04.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied unveiled new deposition systems aimed at the “angstrom era” (2nm/GAA) that are already being used by leading foundry/logic customers — a direct revenue catalyst because these tools address demand for advanced AI chips and node transitions. Applied Materials Introduces Deposition Systems for Angstrom‑Era Logic Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and headlines across financial sites report the new tools as a major product win, helping the stock rally as investors anticipate larger orders and aftermarket revenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 9.0% After Launching 2nm GAA Deposition Tools For AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Susquehanna raised its price target to $500 and kept a “positive” rating, providing a large upside signal that supports momentum buying. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs included AMAT among top semiconductor picks, adding institutional credibility to the buy case amid improving valuations in the sector. Goldman Sachs Names Teradyne (TER), Applied Materials (AMAT), AMD (AMD) as Top Semiconductor Picks
• Positive Sentiment: Independent commentary frames recent memory/semiconductor selloffs (Micron, WDC, AMAT) as a buying opportunity driven by strong AI demand — a sentiment that can attract value/momentum buyers. Memory Wipe: The Great TurboQuant Miscalculation (AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and market context: easing geopolitical tensions and positive market breadth are supporting semiconductor names broadly, which helps AMAT alongside company‑specific news. Dow Jones Futures Fall, Oil Prices Rise After Iran Ceasefire Rally…
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/watchers: some writeups question whether the recent run (strong YTD and 1‑year performance) leaves less margin for error — keep an eye on execution and order flow to validate the rally. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After 177% One Year Surge?

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,533,000. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $315.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

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.