Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 10% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was down 10% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $639.06 and last traded at $650.91. Approximately 15,772,370 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 92% from the average session volume of 8,230,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $723.00.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continued to raise their outlooks on Applied Materials, including a price-target hike from Cantor Fitzgerald to $850 and higher earnings estimates from Erste Group Bank, reinforcing expectations for strong future growth. Applied Materials (AMAT) Remains Favored as ASML Emerges as Top Catch-Up Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has been one of the hottest names in semiconductors, hitting all-time highs and posting its best monthly rally since 1975 as AI-related chip spending lifted demand forecasts and sentiment toward chip-equipment makers. Stock Of The Month: Applied Materials Notches Best Rally Since 1975
• Positive Sentiment: Broader semiconductor strength is also supporting AMAT, with investors buying into chip ETFs and equipment stocks as Micron’s AI-led memory surge and the broader $2 trillion AI chip market rally keep the group in focus. Semiconductor ETFs to Buy as Micron Leads 2T AI-Led Chip Market Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: News flow around AMAT remains heavily focused on valuation and technical momentum, with some commentary warning the stock is extremely overbought and may be vulnerable to a pullback after its sharp run. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Negative Sentiment: One market-wide article noted that chip stocks were the main drag on otherwise stronger trading, which could limit near-term upside for Applied Materials if semiconductor sentiment cools. Meta, CoreWeave, Salesforce, Corning, Bending Spoons, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.56.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $516.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $486.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.