Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $658.4483.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the AI boom remains durable, citing customer orders that extend years into the future. Commentary from industry peers reportedly supports continued demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, strengthening the growth outlook for AMAT. Applied Materials AI demand outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.53 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record November 19. The payment follows a 15% dividend increase announced in March and signals continued confidence in cash generation. Applied Materials dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s latest reported quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $3.50 versus a $3.40 consensus estimate and revenue of $9.12 billion versus $8.99 billion. Revenue increased 24.8% year over year, supporting the bullish AI and semiconductor-cycle narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor articles are comparing AMAT favorably with Intel because Applied Materials is profitable, has relatively low debt and supplies the equipment needed to build advanced chips. However, the stock’s roughly 39 price-to-earnings ratio leaves less room for execution disappointments. Applied Materials versus Intel comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $658.45. Nonetheless, the wide range between bullish and bearish scenarios highlights uncertainty surrounding AI demand, semiconductor cyclicality and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares for approximately $465,000, reducing her holdings by 3.77%. She still retains a substantial position, so the transaction is a modest sentiment negative rather than a major change in insider conviction. SEC insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Risk-focused commentary notes that AMAT tends to amplify market moves. Its beta of 1.60 and elevated valuation could make the stock vulnerable if AI spending expectations weaken or broader technology shares pull back. Applied Materials volatility analysis

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 232,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,579,059 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Applied Materials by 70,976.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $629,149,306,000 after buying an additional 868,968,380 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $456.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $362.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $513.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.93. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $167.18 and a 1 year high of $739.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.