Applied Materials Climbs as Chip Stocks Rebound and Long-Term AI Demand Narrative Holds

Applied Materials (AMAT) is up 4.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver is a rebound in semiconductor equipment stocks after a sharp sector selloff, with investors rotating back into names tied to AI infrastructure spending. Applied Materials also appears to be benefiting from still-fresh optimism after management highlighted unusually strong long-range visibility into customer equipment demand.

Details:

Chip equipment shares moved higher on July 14 as traders bought the dip following the previous session’s broad semiconductor weakness, lifting Applied Materials along with peers.

Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said in an interview published last week that chipmakers are now sharing equipment demand outlooks stretching two years or more, with some visibility extending toward 2030.

In its fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Applied Materials posted record GAAP earnings per share and guided for another large quarter, reinforcing the company’s leverage to AI-related wafer fab spending.

The company has also continued rolling out new products aimed at DRAM and advanced packaging, two areas closely tied to AI chip demand and one reason investors may still view pullbacks as buying opportunities.

Sources:

Applied Materials Investor Relations, SEC, Investing.com

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$AMAT Insider Trading Activity

$AMAT insiders have traded $AMAT stock on the open market 39 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 39 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AMAT stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

GARY E DICKERSON (President and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 15 sales selling 161,321 shares for an estimated $104,789,403.
PRABU G. RAJA (President, Semi. Products Grp.) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 60,000 shares for an estimated $31,599,496.
OMKARAM NALAMASU (Senior Vice President, CTO) has made 0 purchases and 9 sales selling 35,000 shares for an estimated $20,754,197.
THOMAS J IANNOTTI sold 9,250 shares for an estimated $5,547,872
TIMOTHY M DEANE (SVP, Applied Global Services) sold 8,621 shares for an estimated $5,092,984
BRICE HILL (SVP, CFO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 7,500 shares for an estimated $3,053,215.
JUDY BRUNER has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 7,597 shares for an estimated $2,983,279.
ADAM SANDERS (Corp. Controller & CAO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 802 shares for an estimated $318,841.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$AMAT Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 1,285 institutional investors add shares of $AMAT stock to their portfolio, and 1,188 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BLACKROCK, INC. added 3,715,744 shares (+4.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,217,509,968
AUTO-OWNERS INSURANCE CO removed 3,357,097 shares (-99.6%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,099,994,795
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC added 3,313,100 shares (+17.8%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,085,578,628
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS removed 3,251,625 shares (-9.9%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,065,435,576
DAVIS SELECTED ADVISERS removed 3,004,196 shares (-71.5%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $984,362,371
SANDERS CAPITAL, LLC removed 2,660,789 shares (-30.1%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $871,840,775
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CO removed 2,067,651 shares (-82.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $677,491,695

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$AMAT Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $AMAT stock 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AMAT stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN sold up to $15,000 on 02/27.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$AMAT Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AMAT in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 02/13/2026
Morgan Stanley issued a "Overweight" rating on 02/02/2026
Deutsche Bank issued a "Buy" rating on 01/23/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $AMAT, check out Quiver Quantitative's $AMAT forecast page.

$AMAT Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $AMAT recently. We have seen 24 analysts offer price targets for $AMAT in the last 6 months, with a median target of $580.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Krish Sankar from TD Cowen set a target price of $700.0 on 07/09/2026
Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho set a target price of $650.0 on 07/09/2026
Shane Brett from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $647.0 on 07/06/2026
Mehdi Hosseini from Susquehanna set a target price of $900.0 on 06/30/2026
Steve Barger from Keybanc set a target price of $750.0 on 06/29/2026
C.J. Muse from Cantor Fitzgerald set a target price of $850.0 on 06/29/2026
Joe Quatrochi from Wells Fargo set a target price of $740.0 on 06/26/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.