Applied Materials’ (AMAT) shares have gained 21.4% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the industry, the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500 index’s returns of 18.1%, 18.2% and 14.7%, respectively.Given the fact that artificial intelligence (AI) has become mainstream in several industries and sectors, the company’s strategic pivot toward the technology has been a major positive. As businesses of different sizes are rushing to boost their operational efficiency with the power of AI, AMAT ...