Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Now Covered by Analysts at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $346.53 on Thursday. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $325.05 and a 200-day moving average of $254.38.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,409,320,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technical breakout — AMAT recently moved above its 20‑day moving average, signaling short‑term bullish momentum for traders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent performance — AMAT has climbed ~33.4% over three months, reflecting improving chip equipment demand (logic, DRAM, HBM) that supports revenue outlooks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals — Last quarter AMAT beat EPS estimates and reiterated strong mid‑term guidance (Q2 FY2026 EPS guide 2.440–2.840), supporting the view that equipment demand is recovering. (Background company filings and earnings release)
• Positive Sentiment: AI/data‑center tailwind highlighted — Market commentary on the $650B+ AI capex wave points to sustained demand for chipmaking tools; AMAT is specifically cited as a beneficiary in broad semiconductor ETF coverage. This is a structural growth tailwind for equipment makers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New coverage — Erste Group initiated coverage with a “hold” rating, which is neither bullish nor bearish but may dampen near‑term momentum from institutional readers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparator analysis — A head‑to‑head piece comparing AMAT with smaller peers provides context but is unlikely to move the stock materially. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Odd short‑interest report — Recent short‑interest entries show “0 shares” and NaN changes, likely a data/reporting error; investors should treat that dataset cautiously until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Intraday pullback/volume — Despite the bullish technicals and sector tailwinds, AMAT is retreating on the session with below‑average volume, suggesting profit‑taking after the recent run may be weighing on the stock price today.

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.