Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares were up 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $323.64 and last traded at $322.47. Approximately 6,024,708 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 7,906,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.79.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated overweight/buy views — KeyBanc bumped its target to $380 citing DRAM-driven capacity growth and vertical scaling potential; Needham raised its target to $390. KeyBanc Raises Applied Materials (AMAT) Target to $380, Keeps Overweight Rating Needham & Company LLC Increases Applied Materials Price Target to $390.00
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached an all?time high intraday, reflecting strong momentum and demand for semiconductor equipment exposure. Applied Materials stock hits all-time high at $332.31 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s display segment is rebounding: Zacks notes Q4 display revenue jumped ~68% with stronger OLED and advanced systems demand — a potential multi?year growth driver beyond chips. Can AMAT Lead the Display Market With Advanced OLED and AR/VR Push?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call set for Feb. 12 — investors will focus on revenue guidance, memory demand trends, and China exposure. Applied Materials fiscal Q1 2026 earnings conference call details (company IR)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broad and bullish overall (many Buy/Overweight ratings and a wide range of targets); median target noted in some aggregation is lower than the newest highs, highlighting dispersion in expectations. Applied Materials announces earnings call (QuiverQuant summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally — several write?ups flag that shares have run up strongly and investors should reassess forward multiples and upside. Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Gains
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and recent revenue softness remain a risk: AMAT’s revenue was down ~3.5% YoY in the last quarter, and some industry comparisons note China?facing headwinds that could limit near?term upside. Which Semiconductor Equipment Stock Has More Upside in 2026? (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: At least one retail?oriented column argues there’s a reason to sell vs. rotate into an alternative, highlighting the risk of buying late in a strong run. 1 Reason to Sell AMAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.75.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $268.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.47. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $255.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $1,409,320,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.