Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Evercore set a $590.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $20.72 on Thursday, reaching $409.29. The company had a trading volume of 8,533,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,720,239. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $480.52 and its 200 day moving average is $485.08. The company has a market cap of $324.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,249,000. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% in the third quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 18,199 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 29,521 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,096,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 33.7% during the third quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock’s Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

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.