Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $450.56 and last traded at $454.01. Approximately 4,832,154 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 8,076,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $468.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $519.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.43. The firm has a market cap of $360.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s 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, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70,976.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $629,149,306,000 after buying an additional 868,968,380 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.