Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $642.00 to $563.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.96% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Argus set a $600.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $629.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $512.01 on Monday. 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 $406.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $486.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.90. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $202.87 and a 1 year high of $739.67.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,512,287,000. 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: New KIOXIA partnership supports the AI-memory growth narrative. KIOXIA will join Applied Materials’ EPIC Center to collaborate on advanced memory cells, multi-chip stacking and materials engineering intended to increase memory density and performance for AI applications. The agreement could strengthen Applied’s customer relationships and long-term demand for its equipment. Applied Materials and KIOXIA partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators see additional upside. Coverage highlights Applied Materials’ improving margins, long-term customer commitments and strong positioning in the semiconductor capital-equipment cycle. Aggregated analyst targets imply meaningful potential appreciation, although such targets are not guarantees. Why It’s Time to Load Up on Applied Materials Stock Wall Street analyst upside view
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating momentum remains a supporting factor. Applied Materials recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 24.8% year over year. Investors are also comparing AMAT favorably with Lam Research as both benefit from sustained chipmaking investment. Applied Materials versus Lam Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its AMAT price target from $642 to $563 and retained an Equal Weight rating. The revised target remains above the referenced share price, limiting the negative implication, but the cut signals that valuation and near-term expectations may be increasingly demanding. Morgan Stanley cuts Applied Materials price target

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.