Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given New $695.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $675.00 to $695.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 51.59% from the stock’s current price.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $458.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $547.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $458.57. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $363.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.