Applied Materials (AMAT) closed the most recent trading day at $114.86, moving +0.51% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.06%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.71%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.76%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of chipmaking equipment had gained 0.75% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 6.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.17% in that time.Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AMAT as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, AMAT is projected to report earnings of $1.50 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 68.54%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.39 billion, up 36.27% from the year-ago period.For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.99 per share and revenue of $21.82 billion, which would represent changes of +43.65% and +26.86%, respectively, from the prior year.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AMAT should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.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 17.75% higher. AMAT is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Investors should also note AMAT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.08. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.41, which means AMAT is trading at a discount to the group.Also, we should mention that AMAT has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.38 at yesterday's closing price.The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 41, which puts it in the top 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.Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.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): Get Free Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research