What Happened?
Shares of semiconductor machinery manufacturer Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) jumped 4.4% in the afternoon session after several Wall Street analysts signaled increased confidence in the company, leading to a rating upgrade and higher price targets. Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the stock to "Overweight" and set a price target of $209. In addition, Stifel maintained its "Buy" rating and lifted its price target to $215 from a previous $180. Needham also showed optimism by keeping its "Buy" rating and increasing its price target on Applied Materials to $260 from $240. These actions from financial analysts reflected a bullish view on the company's future performance and its position within the technology sector.
The shares closed the day at $219.51, up 4.6% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Applied Materials’s shares are quite volatile and have had 17 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock dropped 3.2% as President Donald Trump threatened to impose 'massive' new tariffs on Chinese goods, a response to Beijing's decision to tighten export controls on rare earth metals. The escalating trade friction sent shockwaves through the market, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) falling 4%. The move from China involves expanding restrictions on several rare earth elements, which are critical components for a wide range of high-tech products, including semiconductors. President Trump's retaliatory tariff threat intensified investor concerns about potential supply chain disruptions and increased costs for chipmakers. This geopolitical tension has created significant uncertainty, leading to a broad sell-off in the tech sector and pulling down major indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Applied Materials is up 33.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $219.48 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $223.91 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Applied Materials’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,393.
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