Applied Materials rises as S&P 100 addition and upbeat AI-driven equipment demand keep sentiment strong

Applied Materials (AMAT) is up 3.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to continued buying interest following the announced addition of Applied Materials to the S&P 100, which can create incremental demand from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Positive sentiment has also been supported by the company’s recently reported fiscal Q1 2026 results and outlook, reinforcing expectations for sustained semiconductor equipment spending driven by leading-edge logic and memory investments.

Details:

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced Applied Materials will be added to the S&P 100, effective prior to the market open on March 23, 2026, a change that can drive passive and benchmark-related positioning.

Applied Materials’ fiscal Q1 2026 results (reported February 12, 2026) highlighted solid profitability and management commentary pointing to demand supported by advanced foundry/logic and memory-related investment cycles.

In the weeks following earnings, multiple Wall Street firms raised price targets for the stock, which likely helped reinforce momentum and dip-buying behavior.

This could also reflect a broader tailwind in semiconductor equipment names as investors focus on 2026 capital spending plans at major chip manufacturers.

Sources:

S&P Dow Jones Indices, Applied Materials (Investor Relations / 8-K), Nasdaq

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 8 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 8 have been sales.

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

JUDY BRUNER has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 6,469 shares for an estimated $2,475,679.
TERI A. LITTLE (SVP, CLO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 8,000 shares for an estimated $1,889,262.
BRICE HILL (SVP, CFO) sold 5,000 shares for an estimated $1,806,062
ADAM SANDERS (Corp. Controller & CAO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 1,143 shares for an estimated $358,091.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$AMAT Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 1,116 institutional investors add shares of $AMAT stock to their portfolio, and 1,272 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 25,829,700 shares (-70.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $6,637,974,603
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS added 17,829,377 shares (+119.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $4,581,971,595
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P. removed 6,352,096 shares (-49.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $1,632,425,151
KINGSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS TEXAS, LLC removed 4,819,994 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $986,845,571
AUTO-OWNERS INSURANCE CO added 3,357,167 shares (+25824.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $862,758,347
DZ BANK AG DEUTSCHE ZENTRAL GENOSSENSCHAFTS BANK, FRANKFURT AM MAIN added 2,920,878 shares (+257.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $750,636,437
VAN ECK ASSOCIATES CORP removed 2,705,730 shares (-25.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $695,345,552

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$AMAT Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $AMAT stock 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 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.
SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN purchased up to $50,000 on 12/29.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard.

$AMAT Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AMAT in the last several months. We have seen 14 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
RBC Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 01/15/2026
Barclays issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/15/2026
B. Riley Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 12/18/2025
UBS issued a "Buy" rating on 11/25/2025

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 20 analysts offer price targets for $AMAT in the last 6 months, with a median target of $415.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Shane Brett from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $432.0 on 02/25/2026
Tom O'Malley from Barclays set a target price of $450.0 on 02/17/2026
Krish Sankar from TD Cowen set a target price of $450.0 on 02/13/2026
Charles Shi from Needham set a target price of $440.0 on 02/13/2026
Craig Ellis from B. Riley Securities set a target price of $450.0 on 02/13/2026
Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho set a target price of $410.0 on 02/13/2026
Steve Barger from Keybanc set a target price of $450.0 on 02/13/2026

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.