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

Shares of 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.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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 Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $279.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.16. The company has a market cap of $270.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. The company’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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.