Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 8.4% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was down 8.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $436.33 and last traded at $436.45. Approximately 10,085,396 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 8,289,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $476.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.19.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.9%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.08 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during 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 buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd 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 worth $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635,284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.