Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Seaport Research Partners

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Seaport Research Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $432.00 to $454.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.86.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.0%

AMAT opened at $410.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $369.34 and its 200 day moving average is $308.46. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $151.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors 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: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel?level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high?growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near?term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data?center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company?specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company?specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

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.