On September 29, Applied Materials rose 3.19% in regular trading, trading at 508.07 USD/share, with turnover of $251 million, rebounding sharply from approximately a 3% decline in the prior session.

On the news front, Morgan Stanley issued a new research note that, while lowering Applied Materials' target price from $642 to $563 and maintaining an Equal-Weight rating, raised the company's fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $50.7 billion and EPS estimate to $20.92, citing improved NAND flash demand and gross margin expectations. The bank projects gross margins to climb from 48.8% to 52% over the coming years. Morgan Stanley also reduced its valuation multiple from 26x to 22x, noting the stock had already priced in significant optimism. Despite the target price cut, the upward earnings revisions appeared to dominate market sentiment. Earlier this month, the company's CEO publicly stated that 2027 would be a landmark year for the firm, with strong growth expected to continue beyond that horizon.

Within the Semiconductor Equipment sector, the broader group rallied in tandem. Among individual stocks, AXT Inc up 3.94%, Lam Research up 3.35%, KLA Corporation up 3.25%, Teradyne up 2.38%, ASML Holding NV up 2.37%.

(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)