AI and the wave of expansion drive long-term stable growth; UBS Group AG raises Applied Materials (AMAT.US) target price by over 40%.

Recently, UBS Group AG analyst Timothy Akuri significantly raised the target price of Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT.US) from $285 to $405 and reiterated a "buy" rating on the stock. The company's stock price has surged nearly 80% in the past year. The main driving force behind this is the company's increasingly robust growth prospects. Building a new chip manufacturing facility is not a short-term project, often taking several years from planning to production. Once in production, the equipment in the factory requires constant maintenance and upgrades, making this ongoing business a stable source of income for Applied Materials, Inc. The company's development is in sync with the expansion of the entire semiconductor manufacturing industry. The demand in areas such as industrial IoT devices, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence continues to rise, with Applied Materials' equipment positioned at the core of these trends. Applied Materials' profitability is also outstanding. The company consistently maintains strong operating profit margins and returns all free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Applied Materials, Inc. provides material engineering solutions for the global semiconductor and display panel industries, supplying equipment, services, and software combinations to technology manufacturers.