Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Erste Group Bank

Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $11.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $346.25. 1,571,223 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,040,227. The stock has a market cap of $274.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.74. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,418,000. Midway Capital Research & Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,652,000. Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,960,000. S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,000. Finally, EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $490,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.