Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $563.00 to $538.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on AMAT. New Street Research cut their price target on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $590.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $632.01.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $319.25 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $447.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $444.59. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Amundi grew its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are potential longer-term supports for Applied Materials, according to a recent analysis. AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Funds added to their AMAT positions on Nov. 2: ETFs bought a net $237 million, while Capital Group Dividend Value purchased $146.3 million. This buying may signal institutional confidence, though it predates the latest sell-off. ETFs Bought $237.0 Million of Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Next week’s earnings are expected to be a key test of whether strong chip-equipment guidance can hold up amid a more challenging investment backdrop; one report highlights a $10.25 billion revenue benchmark. Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a $10.25 Billion Revenue Test
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT has declined amid a deepening chip-stock rout that has also hit Lam Research, KLA and Teradyne. Investors are concerned that data-center spending could slow, and Qualcomm’s weak guidance added to the sector’s worries. Chip Stock Rout Deepens

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.