Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 3.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares fell 3.7% during trading on Thursday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $418.24 and last traded at $430.01. Approximately 12,119,000 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 54% from the average session volume of 7,888,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $446.63.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. New Street Research cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 68.4% during the third quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 797 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.5% during the third quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 187.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $324.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $480.52 and its 200-day moving average is $485.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

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.