Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.3% – What’s Next?

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 25th, 2026

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 2.3% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $487.68 and last traded at $485.00. Approximately 4,764,661 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 7,986,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $474.25.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is committing approximately $5 billion to India over the next decade, including a 140-acre semiconductor research park. The investment could expand the company’s regional footprint, strengthen customer relationships and position it to benefit from India’s developing chip ecosystem. Applied Materials AMAT What Is Behind The Fresh Attention Today?
Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials, KLA and GlobalFoundries are expanding their semiconductor ties in Singapore. The initiative signals continued investment in regional manufacturing and research capacity, potentially supporting future equipment demand for Applied Materials. Applied Materials, KLA, GlobalFoundries expand Singapore semiconductor ties
Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continues to highlight Applied Materials’ exposure to surging AI-related semiconductor demand. The company’s latest reported quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and sales exceeding consensus estimates, reinforcing the growth narrative. ASML vs. Applied Materials: Which AI Chip-Equipment Stock Is the Better Buy?
Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with ASML frame AMAT as a diversified AI chip-equipment investment trading at a lower forward earnings multiple, but the discussion is valuation-focused rather than a new company-specific catalyst. ASML vs. Applied Materials: Which AI Chip-Equipment Stock Is the Better Buy?
Neutral Sentiment: Recent research is examining whether the latest 25% growth rate represents a sustainable new run rate or merely a recovery quarter, leaving some uncertainty about the durability of the expansion.
Negative Sentiment: Despite strong long-term performance, the stock has experienced a notable 90-day decline and trades at a premium valuation. That combination may encourage profit-taking and makes the shares more sensitive to any slowdown in AI or semiconductor capital spending.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Read Our Latest Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $384.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $489.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $469.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,821 shares of company stock valued at $59,609,471. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.