Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Posted by Teresa Graham on Jul 10th, 2026

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $530.00 to $740.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $585.61.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $588.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.50 and its 200-day moving average is $400.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $467.37 billion, a PE ratio of 55.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials gained after reports that Meta plans to begin manufacturing its own AI chip in September, which lifted semiconductor equipment names on expectations for more wafer fab tool demand. Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research Take Off on Meta’s Chip Plans
Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said Applied Materials has “tremendous visibility” into demand, with chipmakers planning further ahead than usual and AI investment likely to stay elevated for years, reinforcing the bull case for continued equipment spending. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
Positive Sentiment: Broad chip-sector strength also helped AMAT, with AI and memory stocks rallying as Micron’s domestic manufacturing investment added to optimism around the semiconductor capex cycle. US stocks end higher; chip surge offsets Iran worries
Neutral Sentiment: Some recent articles debated whether AMAT is already richly valued or “late to the AI party,” suggesting investors may continue to weigh strong demand growth against valuation risk. Applied Materials: You’re Late To The AI Party
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and watchlist coverage continued, including a mention from Susquehanna and a manufacturing-stocks roundup, which may support sentiment but did not introduce a major new catalyst. Top Manufacturing Stocks To Add to Your Watchlist – July 9th

About Applied Materials

(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.