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B. Riley Raises Target on Applied Materials (AMAT) on HBM and DRAM Capex Upside

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is included among the 20 Best Performing Dividend Stocks in 2025.

On December 18, B. Riley raised its price target on Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) to $305 from $270 and kept a Buy rating on the stock. In a research note, the analyst pointed to the company’s broad exposure across deposition, etch, and chemical mechanical planarization. That range of capabilities places Applied Materials in a strong position to benefit from rising investment in HBM and advanced DRAM capacity.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the world’s largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Its tools sit at the core of the chipmaking process, supporting advanced logic, memory, and display technologies. That central role has tied the company closely to the ongoing AI and data center build-out. When chipmakers expand, AMAT is usually part of the story.

Several factors helped explain the move in the stock. Demand linked to AI continues to rise, lifting spending on advanced memory and logic chips. That demand is showing up in results as the company posted record revenue and non-GAAP EPS for fiscal 2025, a milestone that stood out to investors. Applied Materials also rolled out new semiconductor manufacturing systems and advanced packaging tools during the year, reinforcing its technology pipeline. At the same time, it held onto its leadership position in the wafer fabrication equipment market, an area where scale and execution matter.

There were headwinds as well. US export restrictions limited access to the Chinese market, which remains an important region for semiconductor equipment demand. Even with that constraint, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s global footprint and exposure to leading-edge technologies continued to support the broader investment case.

While we acknowledge the potential of AMAT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMAT and that has a 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 14 Best Pharma Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2026 and 14 Best Dividend Aristocrats to Invest in Heading into 2026.

Disclosure: None.

The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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Wall Street calls this $3 stock a “Melting Ice Cube.” They said the same thing about BTI before it returned 90%.

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

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We alerted our subscribers, and BTI returned 90% in just 16 months.

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Today, we have identified a nearly identical pattern in a digital-first giant trading at $3.

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