Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Mizuho upgraded the stock from a hold rating to an outperform rating. Mizuho now has a $370.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $275.00. Applied Materials traded as high as $336.47 and last traded at $332.71, with a volume of 8011909 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $319.46.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to “Outperform” and raised its price target to $370 (from $275), citing a “significant acceleration” in wafer fab equipment demand — a direct near-term catalyst for order momentum and revenue visibility. AMAT stock: Mizuho sees ‘significant acceleration’ in WFE, upgrades rating
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc bumped its price target to $380 and Goldman Sachs lists AMAT among top semiconductor picks — reinforcing conviction across the sell side that Applied will benefit from rising deposition/etch intensity and diversified exposure across fabs. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains Analyst Support as Multi-Year Semiconductor Tailwinds Take Shape
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (Jim Cramer) is amplifying demand narratives — Cramer called AMAT a name with a shortage that “can’t be met,” which can drive retail/inflow interest and shorter-term multiple expansion. Applied Materials (AMAT) Has a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst pieces frame AMAT as a likely industry leader in 2026 (expectations of durable demand and margin leverage). That consensus bullishness supports higher forward multiples and investor appetite for shares. Analysts Expect Applied Materials Stock to Dominate in 2026. Should You Buy Shares Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note AMAT is rising while the broader market dips — useful context for relative strength but not a company-specific fundamental change. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed appear to be erroneous/zeroed — no actionable signal from the published short-interest item (treat as data noise until an official update).

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third 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 last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,409,320,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $279.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $270.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s 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. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

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.