Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 4.9% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $366.54 and last traded at $375.72. 7,702,782 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 8,300,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.95.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and strong outlook — AMAT recently topped revenue and EPS estimates and issued solid Q2 guidance, reinforcing demand visibility for its advanced-node and packaging tools. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push – Has The Bull Case Changed?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target lifts — Morgan Stanley raised AMAT’s target (overweight) and other brokers have been increasing targets, supporting a higher valuation narrative for equipment makers. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: AI / memory tailwinds for equipment demand — Coverage highlights AMAT’s exposure to logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding) that should sustain bookings and margins into 2026. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/market tailwinds and volatility — broader tech and AI-related rotation lifted semicap names earlier this week, amplifying earnings-driven moves but also increasing short-term volatility. Stocks Settle Higher as AI Disruption Fears Ease
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference and company outreach — AMAT presented at SPIE Advanced Lithography (visibility benefit) and media pieces question valuation after a ~130% one‑year surge — useful context but not immediate catalysts. AMAT Presents at 2026 SPIE Is It Too Late To Consider AMAT?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — recent Form 4 filings show sales by the CAO and a director (reductions ~10–12%), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 Director Judy Bruner Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Peer weakness and headline-driven selling — stories highlighting falling shares across AMAT and other chip-equipment or storage names have pressured the stock amid broader profit-taking. MSN: Shares Are Falling — What You Need to Know

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $298.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 10,112 shares of company stock valued at $3,660,532 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.