Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $377.11 and last traded at $375.38. 8,167,392 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 8,416,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.83.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near‑term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy‑side conviction and can drive follow‑on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short‑term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.04.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $297.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $302.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.35.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,914,628. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.