Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $254.33 and last traded at $254.8790, with a volume of 2002569 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $252.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Cfra Research raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.48.

View Our Latest Stock Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.23 and a 200 day moving average of $193.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $211.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after purchasing an additional 407,282 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised 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 valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Materials

(Get Free Report)

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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