Applied Materials Stock Edges Up On Upgrade Over Low China Exposure, Attractive Multiples: Retail Turns Bullish

Shares of Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) gained nearly 1% in Thursday’s after-hours trading session after the company received an upgrade from the analysts at Jefferies.

According to The Fly, Jefferies upgraded Applied Materials to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and also hiked its price target for the stock to $195 from $185, implying an upside of 32% from Thursday’s closing price.

The brokerage upgraded the stock as part of its WFE semiconductor outlook ahead of the first-quarter earnings season.

Jefferies expects Applied Materials to benefit from a recovery in demand for dynamic random-access memory and from its relatively low exposure to the Chinese market compared to its peers.

This is crucial at a time when the Trump administration has deployed tariffs to counter trade imbalance with several countries, including some of its largest trading partners like China, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, among others.

Jefferies also notes that the Applied Materials stock is currently trading at attractive multiples – its trailing-twelve-month price-to-earnings ratio is 19.30.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Applied Materials was in the ‘bullish’ (61/100) territory, showing increasing optimism among investors. This reflected in the surge in message volumes as well, which were at ‘high’ levels at the time of writing.

AMAT sentiment and message volume March 28, 2025, as of 12:30 am ET | Source: Stocktwits

Data from Koyfin showed the average price target for Applied Materials is $206.32, implying a 40% upside from current levels.

Of the 37 brokerage calls, 26 had a ‘Strong Buy’ or ‘Buy’ recommendation, 10 advised ‘Hold,’ while one had a ‘Sell’ rating.

Applied Materials’ stock has declined by over 9% year-to-date.

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