Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price dropped 2.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $531.79 and last traded at $534.54. Approximately 11,418,062 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 8,217,843 shares. The stock had previously closed at $548.15.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Optimism is being driven by expectations for strong AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand. Analysts anticipate approximately $9 billion in revenue and $3.39 in EPS, while Applied Materials expects semiconductor-equipment growth of more than 30% in 2026. Applied Materials earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded AMAT to Rank #1, or Strong Buy, citing improving earnings prospects. Zacks’ earnings model also signals another potential earnings beat, supporting near-term investor confidence. Zacks rating upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares received a lift after SanDisk issued bullish financial targets, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure and memory demand could benefit Applied Materials. The company is also expanding AI-chip research through a collaboration with UC Berkeley. Semiconductor equipment shares rise after SanDisk targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on management’s outlook for AI-driven equipment demand, margins, China exposure and the sustainability of the recent rally. Technical analysts identify roughly $555 as a key resistance level, making the earnings reaction particularly important. Applied Materials Q3 earnings risks
• Negative Sentiment: Options positioning is cautious, with reports citing an elevated put-to-call ratio and expectations for a sizable post-earnings move. Concerns about margin pressure, China-related uncertainty and the stock’s elevated valuation could weigh on AMAT if results merely meet expectations. Applied Materials options market signals

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.23.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $562.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $442.96. The company has a market cap of $424.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.