Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Moderate Buy

Posted by Scott Moore on Jan 16th, 2026

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho set a $275.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Thursday. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.86.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $319.08 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.77. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $331.00. The company has a market capitalization of $253.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after purchasing an additional 10,468 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 35,012 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded AMAT and highlighted increased exposure to AI-related spending, helping drive investor enthusiasm. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s strong quarter (35% YoY profit growth) lifted confidence across chipmakers and equipment suppliers, boosting demand expectations for AMAT’s tools. Chip stocks pop after TSMC’s earnings beat boosts confidence in industrywide demand
Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price‑target lifts and fresh coverage (Stifel, RBC, others) signal growing analyst conviction—several firms raised targets materially, narrowing the gap to peers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock: Wall Street Upgrades Signal Confidence in Chip Equipment Leader
Positive Sentiment: Applied’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business reached ~$1.5B in FY25 and management plans to double it to $3B, with Kinex systems positioning AMAT as a market leader in advanced packaging — a clear growth catalyst. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry pieces (Barron’s) point to heavy capex from TSMC and other foundries, which directly benefits AMAT as a primary supplier of fabrication tools. ASML, Lam Research, Applied Materials Surge. Why Chip Stocks Are Getting a Boost.
Positive Sentiment: Bank of America published a bullish forecast for AMAT’s price appreciation, adding institutional support to the buy‑side narrative. Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundup pieces summarize mixed-but-leaning-positive opinions from ~23 analysts; consensus is constructive but shows dispersion in targets. A Glimpse Into The Expert Outlook On Applied Materials Through 23 Analysts
Neutral Sentiment: Educational/scorecard pieces (Zacks) profile AMAT as a growth stock using style scores — useful context but less likely to move price on its own. Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Growth Stock

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.