Key Points
- Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials at an average price of $450, totaling about $507,600. After the sale, she still owned 26,544 shares, so the transaction trimmed her stake by 4.08%.
- Applied Materials recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion forecast. The company also issued Q3 guidance of $3.16 to $3.56 EPS.
- Analyst sentiment remains upbeat, with several firms raising price targets and Cantor Fitzgerald reiterating an Overweight rating with a $575 target. The stock has also benefited from optimism around AI-driven semiconductor demand and new chip equipment partnerships.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
Applied Materials Price Performance
Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $449.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $395.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $462.40.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The firm 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 $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.
Key Applied Materials News
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and lifted its price target to $575, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald
- Positive Sentiment: Investors remain focused on Applied Materials’ strong quarterly results, higher guidance, and new AI chip equipment partnerships, including work tied to Broadcom and SCREEN, which supports the bullish case for semiconductor equipment demand. Assessing Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Earnings Beat And New AI Chip Equipment Partnerships
- Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson’s comments that this is the strongest period ever for semiconductors, with AI driving unprecedented computing demand, reinforce the long-term growth narrative for Applied Materials. This is the greatest time ever for semiconductors, says CEO of key equipment supplier
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continues to frame AMAT as a strong AI semiconductor equipment play, with comparisons against peers favoring its broader tech exposure and growth outlook. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
- Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also presented at Bernstein’s strategic decisions conference, keeping investors updated on its business outlook but not adding a clearly new catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
- Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Judy Bruner may create a modest overhang, even though the sale was relatively small compared with her remaining holdings. Applied Materials director Judy Bruner stock sale
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.13.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT
About Applied Materials
(
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.
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