Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Coverage Initiated at William Blair

William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “market perform” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $528.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 475,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,160,478. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $560.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.53, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer identified AMAT, Lam Research and KLA as key beneficiaries of a data-center memory production bottleneck, highlighting the semiconductor-equipment group’s potential exposure to sustained AI infrastructure spending. Is Lam Research, KLA, or Applied Materials the Best Chip Equipment Buy? Jim Cramer Weighs In
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have raised at least one FY2027 EPS forecast, while pre-earnings commentary points to Applied Materials’ broad technology portfolio and AI-driven growth as reasons to remain constructive. FY2027 EPS Forecast for Applied Materials Lifted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street expects roughly $3.39 in quarterly EPS and approximately $9 billion in revenue for fiscal Q3. The report is a major near-term catalyst after the stock moved substantially below its 52-week high. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets imply the possibility of a double-digit move around earnings, signaling elevated volatility as investors focus on guidance, AI-related demand and China exposure. Earnings Volatility Watch
• Negative Sentiment: William Blair maintained a Hold rating, citing strong AI fundamentals but arguing that AMAT’s valuation and competitive risks limit additional upside. With a P/E near 49, investors may be demanding particularly strong results and guidance. Analyst Maintains Hold on Applied Materials

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.