Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 2.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price fell 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $660.00 to $500.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $352.23 and last traded at $370.50. Approximately 11,892,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 7,944,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $380.95.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $770.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.23.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Latest Applied Materials News

Here’s some of the latest news about AMAT:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials reported record fiscal Q4 revenue of $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.16, up 92%; both topped analyst estimates. Fiscal 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts generally maintained Buy or Overweight ratings after the report, but many lowered their price targets. Several revised targets still imply substantial upside from recent levels, suggesting optimism about the business remains alongside greater caution on valuation. Analyst target changes
• Negative Sentiment: The share-price decline reflects a lukewarm market reaction to the beat-and-raise results. Target cuts—including reductions from major firms—were attributed to semiconductor-sector multiple compression, while a downgrade to Hold added a cautious signal. Price-target cuts after earnings

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $439.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.