Shares of Applied Materials Inc ( AMAT ) are gaining Tuesday, swept up in a broad rally across the artificial intelligence chip sector. The positive momentum is being driven by two developments pointing toward increased demand for semiconductors and the equipment needed to produce them.

What To Know: A primary catalyst was news of the Trump administration’s plan to unveil a $70 billion investment initiative in Pennsylvania focused on AI and energy. The proposal includes building new data centers and upgrading power grids, signaling a massive expansion in infrastructure that will require a substantial volume of new chips.

As a leading supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, Applied Materials ( AMAT ) is directly positioned to benefit from chipmakers like TSMC and Micron ramping up production to meet this demand.

Further fueling the optimism was the U.S. government's decision to ease certain export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. This policy shift is expected to reopen a major market for companies such as Nvidia, which had previously been barred from selling its high-end products there.

The potential for renewed sales to China would drive global chip production higher, potentially increasing the need for AMAT's fabrication systems and services.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: According to recent analyst data from Benzinga, Wall Street has shown largely positive sentiment towards Applied Materials ( AMAT ) in July.

On July 10, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the stock with a strong Buy rating and a $225 price target. This bullishness was echoed by several other firms, including Mizuho, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, which all maintained their buy-equivalent ratings while increasing their price targets to $220, $215 and $220, respectively.

However, the view is not unanimously positive. On July 7, Redburn Atlantic issued a downgrade from Buy to Neutral, lowering its price target to $200. Morgan Stanley also maintains a more cautious Equal-Weight rating, despite a modest price target increase at the beginning of the month.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, AMAT shares are trading higher by 1.67% to $200.45 Tuesday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $248.81 and a 52-week low of $123.74.

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How To Buy AMAT Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Applied Materials ( AMAT ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of Applied Materials ( AMAT ), which is trading at $200.45 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.5 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

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