Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Increased to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $404.86 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $321.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $144.71 and a 1 year high of $420.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $367.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.3% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 8,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Baer Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $325,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $1,427,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.8% during the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 46,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,840,000 after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advantest joined Applied’s EPIC platform and opened an Innovation Center on Applied’s Silicon Valley R&D campus—this tightens front‑end process engineering with back‑end test capabilities, which could accelerate commercialization of complex AI and HPC chips and strengthen Applied’s competitive ecosystem over time. Is Advantest’s EPIC Tie-Up Reshaping the Long-Term Investment Case for Applied Materials (AMAT)?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group upgraded AMAT from “hold” to “buy,” a near‑term bullish catalyst that can support sentiment and attract buyers at pullbacks. Erste Group upgrade (Finviz)
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF reconstitution commentary notes Applied’s strong free‑cash‑flow profile could keep it visible to thematic/FCF‑focused ETFs—possible gradual inflows but not an immediate driver of today’s move. Metal, Chips, & Cash: Q1 ‘26 Additions to VictoryShares GFLW
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch flags AMAT’s underperformance versus competitors on the day—useful context on relative strength but not a standalone structural change. Applied Materials Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: News pieces and headlines point to profit‑taking after a strong run and broader tech weakness as the proximate cause of today’s decline—investors appear to be trimming positions despite solid recent earnings. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) shares are falling today
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage (Zacks/Yahoo) reiterates the same intraday dip narrative—confirming the move is market‑driven rather than due to new company‑specific bad news. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

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.