Applied Materials
AMAT
is consistently working toward strengthening its semiconductor manufacturing efforts.
This is evident from the fact that the company recently revealed plans to expand its global manufacturing capacity by 2030.
Applied Materials is intending to make multi-billion-dollar investments in infrastructure innovation in the United States and Singapore.
The investments will help AMAT accelerate improvements in semiconductor performance, power and cost. This, in turn, will help the company to better serve its customers.
On the back of its continuous manufacturing investments, Applied Materials strives to support the semiconductor industry in becoming a 1 trillion-dollar U.S. market by the end of this decade.
This is expected to instill investor optimism in the stock in the near term.
Shares of AMAT have been down 32.7% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the
Computer and Technology
sector’s decline of 35.7%.
Applied Materials, Inc. Price and Consensus
Applied Materials, Inc. price-consensus-chart
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Applied Materials, Inc. Quote
Stance on Global Infrastructure Development
Applied Materials aims to build an advanced research and development (R&D) center in Sunnyvale, CA.
The center will be used for advancing materials engineering, foundational semiconductor technologies and process equipment.
By building the center in the Silicon Valley, AMAT will be able to collaborate with the world’s major chipmakers and universities for R&D purposes. It will also help it partner with a future U.S. National Semiconductor Technology Center.
Applied Materials is planning to expand its equipment manufacturing capacity in the United States to promote workforce development in the country.
AMAT also announced its intentions to expand its operations in Singapore by 2030. This will bolster its manufacturing capacity and widen technology partnerships. Moreover, the initiative will create career opportunities in the country.
Competitive Scenario
Applied Materials’ announcement of recent plans are in sync with its growing efforts toward strengthening its position in the semiconductor industry.
With the recent move, AMAT has gained a competitive edge against peers like
KLA Corporation
KLAC
and
Lam Research
LRCX
that are also making strong efforts to cater to the booming industry needs.
KLA announced plans to build a new research and development and manufacturing center in Newport, Wales to strengthen the SPTS division. The expansion in Wales will help KLA bolster its footprint in the semiconductor industry. KLAC lost 7.8% in the year-to-date period.
Lam Research opened its new India Center for Engineering in Bengaluru, which will focus on the research and development, engineering and testing of wafer fabrication hardware and software used in the creation of next-generation DRAM, NAND and logic technologies. LRCX moved south 37.7% in the same timeframe.
Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider
Currently, Applied Materials carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector is
Asure Software
ASUR
, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Asure Software has gained 34.1% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for ASUR is currently projected at 23%.
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