Applied Materials (AMAT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Applied Materials (AMAT) ended the recent trading session at $223.59, demonstrating a +2.69% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.17%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.39%. Shares of the maker of chipmaking equipment have appreciated by 39.35% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 8.78%, and the S&P 500's gain of 3.94%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Applied Materials in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.14, down 7.76% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $6.7 billion, showing a 4.84% drop compared to the year-ago quarter. For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $9.37 per share and a revenue of $28.32 billion, signifying shifts of +8.32% and +4.22%, respectively, from the last year. Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Applied Materials. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits. Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Applied Materials is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Applied Materials has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.23 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 38.84, which means Applied Materials is trading at a discount to the group. Investors should also note that AMAT has a PEG ratio of 2.85 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Electronics - Semiconductors was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.02 at yesterday's closing price. The Electronics - Semiconductors industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, putting it in the bottom 28% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions. Free Report: Profiting from the 2nd Wave of AI ExplosionThe next phase of the AI explosion is poised to create significant wealth for investors, especially those who get in early. It will add literally trillion of dollars to the economy and revolutionize nearly every part of our lives.Investors who bought shares like Nvidia at the right time have had a shot at huge gains.But the rocket ride in the "first wave" of AI stocks may soon come to an end. The sharp upward trajectory of these stocks will begin to level off, leaving exponential growth to a new wave of cutting-edge companies.Zacks' AI Boom 2.0: The Second Wave report reveals 4 under-the-radar companies that may soon be shining stars of AI’s next leap forward.Access AI Boom 2.0 now, absolutely free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks