Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Target Lowered at Morgan Stanley

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $642.00 to $563.00 in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $655.72.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $486.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $386.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.60. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $487.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.76. Applied Materials has a one year low of $202.87 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,945,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,298,991,000 after purchasing an additional 681,274 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s average price target implies approximately 34.2% potential upside for Applied Materials. Positive revisions to earnings estimates provide an additional bullish signal, though consensus targets are not always reliable predictors. Wall Street analysts’ Applied Materials price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley retained an “equal weight” rating but still sees its revised $563 target as implying roughly 15.7% upside from the referenced share price. Coverage of the change also points to optimistic revenue expectations, suggesting the target cut reflects valuation or risk adjustments rather than a deterioration in Applied Materials’ operating outlook. Morgan Stanley cuts Applied Materials price target
• Neutral Sentiment: A review of a decade-long investment in Applied Materials highlights the company’s substantial long-term shareholder returns. However, the retrospective does not introduce a new earnings, guidance, or valuation catalyst for the current session. Applied Materials ten-year investment return article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor-equipment sentiment remains tied to the U.S.-China relationship. A recent summit reduced the risk of immediate escalation, but tariffs, technology restrictions, and supply-chain changes remain ongoing risks for Applied Materials and its peers. Chip equipment stocks and U.S.-China summit article
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its Applied Materials price target from $642 to $563, a 12.3% reduction, signaling less near-term valuation upside and contributing downside pressure despite the remaining upside to the new target. Morgan Stanley Applied Materials forecast article

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.