Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $420.00 to $432.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities raised shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $375.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $314.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.22. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company has a market cap of $298.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,112 shares of company stock valued at $3,660,532. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $613,000. Tempo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $348,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance and upgraded outlook drove conviction that demand for advanced-node and packaging tools remains strong — management beat estimates, gave solid Q2 guidance and highlighted 2nm/advanced‑packaging revenue drivers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Morgan Stanley raised its price target (to $432) and other brokers have lifted targets and ratings recently, supporting upside expectations vs. the market run. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry positioning: Coverage notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM/HBM and hybrid‑bonding/packaging tailwinds driven by AI, which supports multi‑year bookings and margins. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: SPIE presentation and fund commentary highlighted technical innovation and that AMAT outperformed some mutual‑fund portfolios, useful for medium‑term narrative but unlikely to move price alone. Applied Materials Presents at SPIE 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports this week show anomalous/zero and NaN values — the published figures look unreliable and shouldn’t be treated as a clear bearish signal without confirmation from official exchanges.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CAO Adam Sanders (and other insiders) disclosed share sales (~534 shares), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 TipRanks: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness: Today’s pullback in several semiconductor-equipment and chip names is pressuring AMAT alongside profit‑taking after a large one‑year rally. MSN: Shares Falling — What You Need to Know

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.