Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $497.73 and last traded at $514.33. Approximately 8,541,800 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 8,259,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $535.31.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AI-related growth, exposure to advanced semiconductor manufacturing and broad equipment portfolio continue to support a favorable long-term outlook. The company is viewed as a potential beneficiary of rising demand for memory and computing capacity. Should You Buy, Sell or Hold AMAT Stock After a 31% Rise in 3 Months?
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley and Needham reiterated buy ratings, while analysts raised price targets to $600 and $660, signaling continued confidence in AMAT’s earnings and industry positioning. Applied Materials’ Buy Rating Reiterated at B. Riley
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising sharply year over year, reinforcing the fundamental case for the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are monitoring international revenue trends because overseas demand and regional sales mix could affect Wall Street forecasts and future growth expectations. Applied Materials International Revenue Trends
• Negative Sentiment: After a 31% three-month advance, AMAT’s premium earnings multiple leaves limited room for execution errors. Analysts caution that beating consensus estimates may not be sufficient if guidance or growth fails to exceed already-high expectations. Applied Materials When Beating Wall Street Numbers Isn’t Enough

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $565.01 and its 200 day moving average is $447.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares during 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.