Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $575.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $449.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $462.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $395.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.67. The firm has a market cap of $357.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is experiencing its strongest period ever, with AI driving powerful long-term demand for chip equipment. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $575, signaling continued confidence in Applied Materials’ growth outlook. Benzinga report on Applied Materials analyst target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ recent partnership and packaging initiatives with Broadcom and SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions are being viewed as incremental wins for its AI chip packaging strategy. Applied Materials partners with Broadcom on advanced chip packaging technologies for AI systems
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings beat expectations and it raised third-quarter guidance, reinforcing the view that demand remains strong. Applied Materials is up after raising Q3 outlook and expanding AI packaging alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Judy Bruner and CAO Adam Sanders both sold small amounts of stock, but the transactions were relatively modest and do not appear to change the broader investment story. Insider trade filing for Judy Bruner

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.