Applied Materials’ Bullish Outlook Boosts Chip Equipment Maker’s Rally

Applied Materials has reported strong earnings and given an optimistic outlook, leading Wall Street to believe that the company's impressive rally will continue. The stock surged 12% to $210.50 before the market opened on Friday, prompting analysts to raise their price targets for the stock. According to FactSet data, 65% of analysts rate Applied Materials as a Buy.

In the earnings release, Applied's CEO, Gary Dickerson, highlighted the company's strategic position within the chip industry, emphasizing its ability to outperform as customers adopt next-generation chip technologies crucial to artificial intelligence.

J.P.Morgan analyst Harlan Sur agreed with this assessment and raised his price target from $170 to $230, maintaining an Overweight rating. He believes that Applied Materials is well-positioned to benefit from multiple technology inflections in the coming years.

Other analysts are even more bullish. Needham analyst Charles Shi has a price target of $240, while B Riley Securities' Craig Ellis is targeting $250.

Citi analyst Atif Malik also has a Buy rating and increased his price target from $170 to $211. Malik praised Applied Materials for its balanced exposure to key equipment megatrends, including Gate-All-Around architecture and advanced packaging technology.

However, not all analysts share the same level of optimism. KeyBanc analyst Steve Barger has a Sector Weight rating on the stock and believes that it may take time for results to meet expectations.

Despite this, other chip stocks such as Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Intel, Micron Technology, and NXP Semiconductors experienced slight gains in premarket trading on Friday, although none reached the same level as Applied Materials.

Applied Materials has had an impressive run recently, with the stock rising 63% over the past year and a further 16% in 2024. While some may be concerned about how much further it can climb, that question can be addressed at a later time.