Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 8.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded down 8.2% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $375.16 and last traded at $375.58. 12,910,444 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 63% from the average session volume of 7,898,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. New Street Research reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Price Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $469.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.71. The firm has a market cap of $298.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.3% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.