AMAT vs MS: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Morgan Stanley — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-24.
Applied Materials, Inc. · Technology
$474.38
-3.5% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Morgan Stanley · Financial Services
$206.27
+15.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MS has more upside to fair value
(+15.9%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AMAT |
MS |
| Current Price |
$474.38 |
$206.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$457.95 |
$239.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-3.5%
|
+15.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$376.6B |
$325.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
33.1x
|
23.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
12.2x
|
2.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
67.0x
|
—
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.8%
|
+22.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
49.4%
|
59.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
30.5%
|
20.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
40.4%
|
18.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.42% |
2.01% |
| FCF Yield |
1.49%
|
—
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
Applied Materials is the largest supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, providing deposition, etch, ion implantation, and process-control tools alongside a growing Applied Global Services aftermarket business to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. The business quality is high: TTM gross margin of 49.4%, TTM operating margin of 30.5%, TTM net margin of 30.1%, and ROE of 40.4% reflect a durabl…
Morgan Stanley is a diversified capital-markets and wealth-management franchise spanning institutional securities, advisor-led and self-directed wealth, workplace services, and investment management. Business quality is solid but inherently cyclical: it combines $8.084 trillion of wealth client assets and $2.004 trillion of investment-management AUM/AUS with a strengthening 15.5% institutional pe…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AMAT |
MS |
| Zone Low |
$343.46 |
$179.25 |
| Zone High |
$389.26 |
$203.15 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|