Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 5.7% Higher – Here’s Why
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyApplied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $287.74 and last traded at $284.32. 10,316,910 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 8,817,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.87.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.78.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Stock Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $225.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
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.