In the latest trading session, Applied Materials (AMAT) closed at $135.18, marking a -0.26% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.08% loss on the day.Heading into today, shares of the maker of chipmaking equipment had gained 3.07% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.11% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.81% in that time.Investors will be hoping for strength from AMAT as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.94, up 55.2% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.33 billion, up 35.04% from the year-ago period.Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.84 per share and revenue of $23.27 billion. These totals would mark changes of +64.03% and +35.27%, respectively, from last year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for AMAT. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.41% higher. AMAT is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Digging into valuation, AMAT currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.81. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.11.We can also see that AMAT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.02. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.04 based on yesterday's closing prices.The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 211, which puts it in the bottom 17% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research