Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $325.56 and last traded at $328.39. Approximately 8,958,666 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 8,175,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.88.

More Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and upbeat guidance — AMAT reported Q1 results that topped estimates (EPS and revenue) and issued strong guidance, citing accelerating demand for AI processors; that combination pushed shares notably higher in after?hours trading. Applied Materials Beats Q1 Estimates, Issues Strong Guidance, Shares Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 revenue outlook above estimates — management forecast second?quarter sales above Street expectations, explicitly tying strength to AI processor demand, which supports further upside if orders validate the outlook. Applied Materials forecasts second-quarter sales above estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and sentiment tailwinds — multiple firms have raised targets or reiterated buys into earnings (some targets near $360–$400), reinforcing investor bullishness into the report. B. Riley Raises Applied Materials Price Target to $400
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement resolves export probe — Applied agreed to pay $252.5M to the U.S. Department of Commerce to settle allegations about past exports to China; the DOJ and SEC closed related probes without action. The deal removes uncertainty but imposes a one?time expense small relative to AMAT’s market cap. Applied Materials Reaches Resolution with the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/valuation context — coverage pieces note AMAT’s strong run and high multiples; that amplifies upside on beats but increases risk of profit?taking if guidance or orders miss. How to Read Applied Materials Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Headline noise and confusion — some outlets initially ran inflated/incorrect figures around the export matter (e.g., misreported fines), which can spook short?term traders and increase volatility. Applied Materials fined $25 billion (misreported)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and governance scrutiny — recent disclosures show insider share sales and the settlement highlights past compliance gaps; these are modest but worth monitoring for governance/operational risk. Quiver Quant summary of settlement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.4%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.28 and a 200-day moving average of $234.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $260.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,738 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,811 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 651 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 67,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,288,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 16,946 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,457,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.