** Shares of chip equipment maker Applied Materials AMAT.O up 3.3% premarket to $238.53 after UBS upgrades to 'buy' from 'neutral'

** Brokerage boosts PT by $35 to $285, implying 23% upside to stock's last close

** UBS points to its "significantly more bullish" outlook for wafer fab equipment (WFE) spending in 2026 and 2027

** Revised forecast calls for WFE spending to increase more than 20% yr/yr to $136.5 bln, driven primarily by memory, UBS says, adding "AMAT stands out as the largest beneficiary of this DRAM spending surge"

** UBS expects co's 2027 EPS of $13, compared to the Street at $11.56, "which we believe supports a substantially higher share price"

** Earlier this month, AMAT said it sees weaker China spending in 2026 on tighter US curbs, with overall rev projected to be stronger in second half of the year

** Of 34 brokerages covering AMAT, recommendation breakdown is 22 "strong buy" or "buy", 11 "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT is $250, per LSEG data

** Through Mon close, shares up 42% YTD vs Nasdaq's .IXIC 18% advance

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))