Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares are trading higher by 2.80% to $80.68 during Friday's session. The stock is rising after New Street Research upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy.

Shares of several semiconductor companies are trading higher on continued strength following strong earnings from Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) this week.

What Happened?

Lam Research reported quarterly earnings of $10.42 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $9.55. The company also reported quarterly sales of $5.07 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $4.88 billion by 4%. 

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