UBS lifted its price target on dram stock Applied Materials to $480 from $430 on May 4, 2026, while keeping a Buy rating in place. The call arrived with the shares trading at $391, leaving the new target about 22.8% above the quoted price.
That gap gives investors a cleaner read on where UBS sees room in a stock that already carries a $310.7 billion market cap. For holders, the note set a higher valuation bar without changing the analyst’s underlying stance on the semiconductor equipment maker.
Applied Materials at $391
$391 was the trading level cited when UBS published the note, and it sits below the company’s $420.50 52-week high but far above the $151.51 low. Applied Materials also traded at a P/E ratio of 40.11, a level that leaves less room for error if growth slows.
38.9% was the company’s return on equity, while operating margins stood at 29.1%. The combination points to a business that has been turning capital into earnings at a rate that helps support a premium multiple, even as the stock remains sensitive to how quickly demand holds up.
AI and data centers
48 Buy ratings, 5 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating made up the Wall Street consensus cited for Applied Materials. UBS’s move fit a broader bullish view tied to semiconductor demand from AI and data centers, which the article said continues to support analyst confidence in semiconductor equipment.
B+ was Meyka AI’s grade on the stock, adding another positive signal to the analyst mix. The same backdrop also included geopolitical tensions around chip exports to China, a regulatory risk that can complicate equipment makers’ sales plans even when end-demand stays firm.
Balance sheet and cash flow
$9.76 in EPS, $7.81 in free cash flow per share, and $1.84 per share in dividends gave the stock a set of cash-generation figures to back up the rating. Applied Materials also posted a current ratio of 2.71, suggesting it had more short-term assets than short-term liabilities at the time of the note.
$35.58 in revenue per share, 20.8% return on assets, 14.2x book value, and 151 days of inventory rounded out the operating picture. Meyka AI’s $408.99 forecast within seven years sits below UBS’s $480 target, which leaves the analyst call as the more aggressive of the two outlooks and gives investors a clear benchmark to judge the stock against.
