Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho set a $275.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.25.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $325.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $331.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 18,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,108 shares during the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $893,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 437,234 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $107,714,000 after buying an additional 31,869 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: Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage/upgraded AMAT to a “moderate buy,” supporting demand for the shares. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Applied Materials, citing stronger AI-related spending that boosts equipment demand—this upgrade has been cited as a near-term catalyst for the rally. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street raises and higher price targets (Stifel to $340; RBC/others initiating with high targets) underscore analyst confidence and valuation re-rating potential. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock: Wall Street Upgrades…
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds: TSMC’s strong earnings and heavy capex lift sentiment for semiconductor-equipment suppliers like AMAT, prompting broad sector strength. Chip stocks pop after TSMC’s earnings beat…
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s and other market write-ups highlight heavy foundry spending (TSMC) as a boost for ASML, Lam and Applied — reinforcing investor appetite for equipment names. ASML, Lam Research, Applied Materials Surge…
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s HBM (hybrid-bonding) business reached $1.5B in FY25 with a goal to double to $3B, highlighting a tangible growth driver that could support longer-term earnings expansion. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B…
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other bulls project strong price appreciation, adding institutional conviction behind the rally. Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation…
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-roundup pieces and “why AMAT is a strong growth stock” articles reinforce positive narrative but mostly echo upgrades/metrics rather than new catalysts. A Glimpse Into The Expert Outlook On Applied Materials…
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings preview: analysts expect AMAT’s upcoming quarter to show a single-digit EPS decline, which presents short-term earnings risk and could cap near-term multiple expansion. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report

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.