Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on May 26th, 2026

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $455.83 and last traded at $454.14, with a volume of 2197375 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $432.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.14.

Read Our Latest Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $360.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $388.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.