New York, June 29, 2026, 13:04 EDT
- Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ:AMAT rose 11.7% to $699.97 in live midday data, versus 3.3% for iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX, 2.7% for VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) and 1.3% for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY).
- Cantor Fitzgerald’s C.J. Muse lifted his AMAT target to $850 from $650; KeyBanc’s Steve Barger raised his target to $750 from $550.
- The live AMAT price sat about 18.7% above Google Finance’s 29-analyst average 12-month target of $589.89, even with 28 buy ratings and one hold.
Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ:AMAT surged on Monday, adding about $58 billion in market value from Friday’s implied level, as the chip-tool maker’s stock moved closer to the Street’s most bullish targets than to its average target.
The shares recently traded at $699.97, up $73.13 on the day, after moving between $633.33 and $708.87. The rally beat the main semiconductor ETF proxies by a wide margin, with AMAT’s intraday gain more than three times SOXX’s move and more than four times SPY’s move.
| Instrument | Live price | Day move | Intraday range | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials NASDAQ:AMAT | $699.97 | +11.7% | $633.33-$708.87 | 7.66 mln |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX | $609.30 | +3.3% | $571.60-$610.38 | 7.17 mln |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) | $627.94 | +2.7% | $596.30-$628.88 | 6.30 mln |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $738.33 | +1.3% | $732.30-$739.76 | 24.44 mln |
The market was open Monday. Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday calendar lists Friday, July 3, as closed for the observed Independence Day holiday, making this a shortened U.S. trading week.
The sharper read for investors is the gap between the stock and the target stack. Google Finance showed a $589.89 average 12-month target for AMAT, with 28 buys, one hold and no sells. The same table showed a high target of $850 and a low target of $500.
Cantor’s Muse set the new high mark. He raised AMAT to $850 and kept an Overweight rating. On the group, he said ASML Holding NV NASDAQ:ASML had “the most EPS upside,” while he still liked Lam Research Corp. NASDAQ:LRCX, AMAT and KLA Corp. NASDAQ:KLAC but saw “more limited upside to EPS” there, Investing.com reported. Investing.com
KeyBanc also moved Monday. Benzinga reported that Steve Barger raised Applied Materials to $750 from $550 and kept an Overweight rating, after AMAT closed Friday at $626.84.
| Analyst | Firm | Target | Date shown | Upside vs $699.97 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Muse | Cantor Fitzgerald | $850 | June 29 | 21.4% |
| Steve Barger | KeyBanc | $750 | June 29 | 7.1% |
| Craig Ellis | B. Riley Securities | $790 | June 26 | 12.9% |
| Joseph Quatrochi | Wells Fargo | $740 | June 26 | 5.7% |
| Blayne Curtis | Jefferies | $770 | June 25 | 10.0% |
| Vivek Arya | Bank of America Securities | $720 | June 26 | 2.9% |
| Atif Malik | Citi | $710 | June 16 | 1.4% |
The fresh target math matters because the rally has shifted the debate from ratings to estimates. At the live price, Citi’s $710 target and Bank of America’s $720 target had little room left. Google Finance’s table put those targets at $710 for Citi’s Atif Malik and $720 for Bank of America’s Vivek Arya.
The latest company catalyst was Applied’s June 25 product launch. Applied introduced systems aimed at DRAM and advanced packaging for AI chips, including a DRAM epitaxy tool with a 20% smaller footprint, new CMP and deposition tools, and new eBeam inspection and metrology systems for advanced packaging.
Dr. Prabu Raja, president of Applied’s Semiconductor Products Group, said “logic and memory process technology is converging.” Keith Wells, group vice president and general manager of imaging and process control, said packaging fabs need “eBeam-grade precision.” Applied Materials
Applied’s last reported quarter gives the rally its base case. The company said May 14 that fiscal second-quarter revenue rose 11% to a record $7.91 billion, GAAP EPS rose 33% to $3.51, and non-GAAP EPS rose 20% to $2.86. CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor equipment business was expected to “grow more than 30 percent” in calendar 2026. Applied Materials
The balance in the stock is less simple. AMAT’s market value was $559.4 billion in live data, with a P/E of 65.9. That is about 17.7 times annualized fiscal second-quarter revenue, based on the company’s $7.91 billion quarter. Applied guided fiscal third-quarter revenue to $8.95 billion, plus or minus $500 million, and non-GAAP EPS to $3.36, plus or minus 20 cents.
