Applied Materials (AMAT) Remains Favored as ASML Emerges as Top Catch-Up Trade

Applied Materials (AMAT) Remains Favored as ASML Emerges as Top Catch-Up Trade Ghazal Ahmed Tue, June 30, 2026 at 12:26 PM GMT+2 1 min read AMAT ASML. AS LRCX KLAC NVDA Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) is one of the 14 AI Stocks Making Moves on Wall Street: Nvidia, Micron, and More . On June 29, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.

J. Muse raised the price target on Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) to $850. 00 (from $650), maintaining an Overweight rating.

Despite the PT raise and rating affirmation, the firm sees more limited upside to EPS compared to peers. The firm continues to like AMAT, alongside LRCX and KLAC. ASML, on the other hand, has the strongest EPS upside among semiconductor stocks.

In Semi Equipment, we see the most EPS upside from ASML. Considering being a significant underperformer, we see a meaningful catch-up trade here. We do continue to like LRCX, AMAT, and KLAC, but we see more limited upside to EPS here (we could see modest relative underperformance here through earnings like we did last earnings season).

Applied Materials (AMAT) Remains Favored as ASML Emerges as Top Catch-Up Trade Image by aymane jdidi from Pixabay Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is a leader in materials engineering solutions engaged in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. While we acknowledge the potential of AMAT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk.

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